Shifts in Dermatology Outpatient Diagnostic Patterns Following a Major Earthquake: A Comparative Pre- and Post-Disaster Study.

OBJECTIVE

To compare dermatologic outpatient diagnostic frequencies before and after the February 6, 2023 Hatay earthquake and to evaluate the implications of these temporal changes for disaster-responsive dermatologic care.

METHODS

This retrospective study compared tertiary-center dermatology outpatient diagnosis records from the pre-earthquake (February 6, 2021-February 3, 2023) and post-earthquake (May 11, 2023-February 6, 2025) periods. Diagnoses were classified into 18 categories and 69 ICD-10-coded subdiagnoses. Logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, and calendar month using patient-clustered robust standard errors; aORs with 95% CIs and FDR-adjusted q values were reported.

RESULTS

Among 41,012 diagnosis records, 19,646 were from the pre-earthquake period and 21,366 from the post-earthquake period. After adjustment, infestations/insect bites were more frequently represented in the post-earthquake diagnostic mix (aOR 2.55, q < 0.001). Dermatitis (aOR 1.17, q < 0.001), bacterial diseases (aOR 1.58, q < 0.001), environmentally induced diseases (aOR 1.51, q = 0.003), and sexually transmitted diseases (aOR 1.50, q < 0.001) were also more frequently represented. Acneiform disorders were less frequently represented (aOR 0.61, q < 0.001). Despite a crude increase, fungal infections did not differ significantly in the adjusted analysis (aOR 1.04, q = 0.149).

CONCLUSIONS

Post-earthquake records showed more infestations and selected infectious and environmentally related diagnoses, but lower representation of some chronic disorders. These clinic-based associations support dermatologic surveillance, infection control, and continuity of care in disaster planning without implying population-level prevalence changes or causal earthquake effects.