Epidemiology of Skin Diseases in a Diverse Patient Population

By October 1, 2018March 29th, 2019SOC Manuscripts

Source: J Drugs Dermatol. 2018;17(10):1032-1036

Jewell V. Gaulding MD, Daniel Gutierrez MD, Bhavnit K. Bhatia MD, Xiaoxia Han PhD, Richard Krajenta BS, Christine Neslund-Dudas PhD, Henry W. Lim MD, Ellen N. Pritchett MD MPH

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies of patients who present to dermatology clinics are necessary to identify the needs of patients. OBJECTIVE: To quantify and compare diagnoses according to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) at 6 general dermatology clinics from January 2013 to December 2016. METHODS: A retrospective cohort of new patients was established using an electronic medical record database. Primary diagnoses and diagnostic codes were recorded. Geocoding was utilized to obtain SES. RESULTS: There were 65969 new patient visits. Racial and ethnic demographics were obtained with the overall top 3 conditions being eczema or dermatitis, benign skin neoplasm, and adnexal disease. In blacks, however, follicular disorders were the third most common condition seen. The most frequently encountered diagnoses at the clinics with the highest and lowest SES were benign skin neoplasm and eczema or dermatitis, respectively.

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