Abstract

Background: To study the spectrum of geriatric dermatoses in patients attending tertiary care centre in rural area, Telangana.
Materials and Methods: It was a Prospective observational study. The present study included all the geriatric population with males aged 60 years & above and females aged 50 years & above.  Female patients were chosen at a younger age, as in them the hormonal changes after menopause influences the aging skin changes, which starts around their 50s.
Results: Out of 400 patients studied 195 (48.75%) were males, 205 (51.25) were females with male to female ratio of 0.95:1.  The mean age of elderly patients in the present study is 64.48 years. Majority of patients (54.0%) belonged to the age group of 60-69 years, followed by 24% in age group of 50-59 years.  Xerosis was the commonest physiological change seen in the present study in 91.25% (365) patients.  The high incidence of xerosis could be attributed to less use of emollients and usage of harsher soaps by the subjects of the study who mostly hail from rural areas.  Infections and infestations of skin were seen in 37.5 %(150) patients. Fungal infections seen in 43.3% (65), viral infection in 28.6% (38), leprosy in 13.3% (20), Pyoderma in 6.6% (10) and Scabies in 11.33% (17) of patients. In the present study, eczematous conditions were seen in 20.5% (82) patients. Among the various types of eczema, stasis dermatitis was the commonest, seen in 34.14%(28)  of patients. Papulosquamous disorders were seen in 17.25% (69) .The incidence of psoriasis in the present study was 8.5% (34) followed by lichen planus, in 4.75% (19) of patients. Vesiculobullous disorders in the present study were seen in 4.75 % (19) of patients. Incidence of pemphigus vulgaris in present study was 1.75%(7) of patients. Bullous pemphigoid was noted in 1%(4) of patients. Malignant tumors were seen in 1.5% (6) of patients. In present study, Melasma was seen in 10.75% (43) patients, vitiligo was seen in 3.25% (13) of patients. In present study associated systemic illness were seen in 57.5 %( 229) patients. Hypertension in 30.75% (123) patients was the commonest systemic illness. Incidence of various pathological dermatosis among males and females were studied for any statistical significance by using fisher test. Statistical significance with p<0.05 was seen in incidence of Dermatosis papulosa nigra (p=0.000001163) and for cherry angiomas (p=0.000000159) among male and female patients.
Conclusion: We conclude, the present study results indicate that among geriatric skin conditions, physiological skin conditions were more common manifestations when compared to pathological conditions.