The High Prevalence of Skin Diseases in Adults Aged 70 and Older.

BACKGROUND/

OBJECTIVES

To determine the prevalence of skin findings and skin diseases in adults aged 70 and older, and to study the association between cutaneous diseases and socioeconomic status (SES), sex, and living status in the older population.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study of Finnish adults aged 70 to 93 as part of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 Study.

SETTINGS: Skin examination data were available for 552 adults.

MEASUREMENTS: A whole-body skin examination was performed by dermatologists. The associations between skin diseases and SES, sex, and living status were analyzed.

RESULTS

Nearly 80% of the adults had at least one skin disease that required further treatment or follow-up. More than one-third of the study cases (39.1%) had three or more simultaneous skin diseases. Skin diseases were more common in men than in women (P < .001). The most common skin diseases were tinea pedis (48.6%), onychomycosis (29.9%), rosacea (25.6%), actinic keratosis (22.3%), and asteatotic eczema (20.8%). Some association was found between skin diseases and SES and living status.

CONCLUSION

A whole-body clinical skin examination is important because it reveals important diagnoses.