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. 2022 Mar 25:20:eAO6320.
doi: 10.31744/einstein_journal/2022AO6320. eCollection 2022.

Social isolation: main dermatosis and the impact of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic

Carolina Soutto Mayor Mangini  1 , Rossana Cantanhede Farias de Vasconcelos  1 , Eduarda Villela Rosa Rodriguez  1 , Isabela Romeu Lorenzon de Oliveira  1
Affiliations

Social isolation: main dermatosis and the impact of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic

Carolina Soutto Mayor Mangini et al. Einstein (Sao Paulo). .

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the pattern of triggering and exacerbation of dermatological diseases between March and July 2020 and to compare this pattern to the corresponding period of 2019.

Methods: This was a quantitative, descriptive, comparative and documentary study that was carried out through the retrospective analysis of medical records (March to July 2019 and 2020) of individuals assisted at a private dermatology practice service located in the southern area of the city of São Paulo (SP).

Results: We evaluated 992 medical consultations in 2019 and 1,176 in 2020. In 2020, we observed a significant increase in cases of telogen effluvium (276%), psoriasis (1,400%), atopic dermatitis (178%), seborrheic dermatitis (200%), herpes zoster (1,200%) and vitiligo (433%). All diseases had stress as a possible initial trigger. In addition, fragile nail syndrome and contact dermatitis, pathologies associated with behavioral measures, also had an important increase in the prevalence (6,400% and 5,500%, respectively). However, the number of aesthetic procedures decreased by approximately 54% during the pandemic period.

Conclusion: During the pandemic period, the pattern of incidence of dermatoses had changed compared with the previous year. An emphasis was observed on diseases triggered by a psychological component, as well as those pathologies that have behavioral measures as the main cause. For this reason, the impacts of COVID-19 is greater than only among those infected.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: none.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Comparison of dermatological consultations between 2019 and 2020
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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