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Prevalence of skin diseases in a dermatology outpatient clinic in Turkey. A cross-sectional, retrospective study.

BACKGROUND
Dermatologic diseases vary widely as a result of geographic location, climate, socioeconomic status, and personal habits, and internal factors, such as age, gender, and heredity.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to determine the main causes for outpatient visits in a dermatology outpatient clinic in Turkey.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
The outpatient clinic records of the Dermatology Department of Eskisehir Yunus Emre Government Hospital, dated between 1 January 2011 and 1 January 2012, were retrospectively assessed. Patients were grouped according to age, gender and clinical diagnosis.


RESULTS
A total of 11,040 new patients with 12,174 skin problems were included in the study. The study group was 55.7% female and 44.3% male. The age range was between 1 and 99 years. The most commonly encountered diseases were: acne (13.1% of patients), fungal infections (8.5%), contact dermatitis (8.5%), urticaria (8.3%), psoriasis (5.5%), viral warts (4.1%), lichen simplex chronicus (3.0%), callus, atopic dermatitis, and seborrheic dermatitis (2.2% each).


CONCLUSIONS
It appears that certain skin diseases acne, fungal infections, contact dermatitis and urticarial cause serious health problems. Public health policies should be implemented in order to manage these problems rationally.