A descriptive epidemiologic study of pediatric dermatoses in the Kyonggi-do Ansan area over a five-year period (1998-2002)

Background: Pediatric dermatoses can be regarded as a different disease because a child's skin differs from an adult's skin in many aspects. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution of pediatric dermatoses in the Kyonggi-do Ansan area and to compare the results with previous reports. Methods: New patients under 15 years of age who visited Korea University Ansan hospital from 1998 to 2002 were reviewed using their clinical records. Results: The study results are summarized as follows; 1. Among the 25,839 new patients, 7,255 (28.1%) were pediatric patients with a male to female ratio of 1:1.12. 2. In the age distribution, the number of patients decreased with increasing age. 3. The Peak incidence occurred in August, July and January in decreasing order. The incidence was more prominent in summer and winter. 4. The ten most common dermatoses were atopic dermatitis, viral wart, contact dermatitis, urticaria, molluscum contagiosum, dermatophytosis, vitiligo, hemangioma, nevocellular nevus, and acne in decreasing order. 5. In the annual distribution, dermatoses showing an increasing tendency were identified as atopic dermatitis, viral wart and acne, whereas dermatophytosis showed a decreasing tendency. Conclusion: Compared to previously published reports, the distribution of dermatoses was different and the proportion of pediatric patients had decreased according to the reduction of the pediatric population.