Analysis of dermatological diseases of Syrian asylum seekers

Abstract

Background and Design: The aim of this study was to determine the dermatological problems and demographic characteristics of the Syrian asylum seekers admitting to our outpatient clinic. Materials and Methods: In this study, the data of the Syrian patients who were examined at the clinic of dermatology outpatient between 2014-2018 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Total of 767 Syrian patients with mean age of 22.57±14.9 years were included in the study. There were 472 female and 295 male patients. Infections and infestations were the most common disease groups observed in both female and male patients across all cases. Scabies was the most common disease in all cases and men. However, in women the most common disease was acne vulgaris. Evaluation of diagnoses based on age groups and years showed that the most common disease group was infection and infestations in 0-18, 19-40, 41-60 age groups and in all years, and dermatitis and eczema in patients over the age of 60. The most common disease was scabies for 0-18 and 41-60 age groups, acne vulgaris in 19-40 age group and pruritus in over-60 age group; scabies was the most common disease in 2014 and 2015, and acne vulgaris in 2016 and 2017. Evaluation based on years showed that the prevalence of infectious dermatological disease was significantly decreased whereas the prevalence of diseases other than infectious dermatological diseases were significantly increased (p<0.05). Conclusion: In our study, it was determined that the most common disease groups were infection and infestations and the most common disease was scabies. These results reveal that asylum seekers are under the threat of infectious dermatological diseases. However, it is also observed that this risk is significantly reduced over the time they have been living in our country.