A Study On Cutaneous Manifestations In Geriatric Population In A Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Background: A series of molecular changes over time cause a biological phenomenon called ageing, which is characterized by increasing functional decrease. Due to the structural and physiological changes brought on by intrinsic and extrinsic ageing, human skin, like all other organs, ages chronologically and is prone to skin conditions. Objectives: 1. To describe the clinical pattern and frequency of skin changes in the elderly. 2. To describe the epidemiological profile of cutaneous diseases in the elderly. 3. To describe the clinical pattern and frequency of pathological skin diseases in the elderly. Material & Methods Study Design: Prospective hospital based observational study. Study area: The study was conducted in Department of Dermatology, Narayana Medical College, Nellore, A.P. Study Period: June 2016 - December 2016. Study population: Patients above 60 years of age with dermatological complaints attending outpatient department of DVL, Narayana Medical College Hospital. Sample size: study consisted a total of 200 subjects.
Sampling method: Simple Random sampling method. Results: Keratinization disorders are seen in 3 cases, of which darier’s disease is most common and seen in 2 cases (1%). Among darier’s disease, unilateral darier’s disease is seen in 1 case (0.5%), and linear darier’s disease in 1 case (0.5%) and ichthyosis vulgaris is seen in 1 case (0.5%). Conclusion: The skin plays an important role in permeability, transport of metabolites, barrier to penetration of microorganisms and chemicals, UV radiation, regulation of body temperature, social and sexual communication. Due to degenerative and metabolic changes occurring in skin layers owing to aging, elderly people are more prone to various dermatological disorders