Epidemiology of skin diseases in the tigray region of Ethiopia

Background: Skin diseases are very common among people living in poor countries. although many of these pathologies might not be fatal, some can have a great impact on the patient, impairing their ability to work or worsening his/her relationship with the community. understanding the epidemiology of skin diseases in these areas, determining the prevalence of different disorders, is fundamental to develop better educational and preventative programs. metHoDS: We collected data from 467 consecutive patients referring to the Dermatology Center of the axum referral Hospital (tigray region, Ethiopia). We investigated health status and environmental data. Diagnoses were classified into 6 groups (i.e. infectious, inflammatory, etc.). A statistical analysis was performed using IBm SPSS™ software version 25.0.1 (IBm SPSS Inc. Chicago, Illinois) and Stata™ software release 14.2 (Stata Corporation, College Station, Texas). Normality of the distributions was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Categorical variables are compared with the use of the Chi Square test or the fisher's exact test, as appropriate. RESULTS: Inflammatory and infectious diseases were the most frequently observed. No significant differences in inferential tests between access to water, housing, education level, and any diagnoses group were found. Curiously, a statistically significant difference between inflammatory diseases and unemployment was found. CONCLUSIONS: Easier access to medical care, medications, and clean water, together with a cleaner work and home environment, are the first goals to be achieved in order to decrease morbidity in these areas.