Atopic dermatitis in adults: A cross-sectional study in the department of dermatology, Antananarivo, Madagascar.

BACKGROUND

Although atopic dermatitis (AD) is becoming a pressing public health concern in the world, Madagascar is underrepresented in the AD literature.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to study the demographic and clinical pattern of AD in adult dermatology outpatients.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Dermatology, University Hospital, Antananarivo, Madagascar. Patients >15 years old with a registered diagnosis of AD, from January 2010 to February 2019, were included. AD was diagnosed by a dermatologist according to Hanifin and Rajka criteria. The severity of AD was assessed using scoring atopic dermatitis (SCORAD).

RESULTS

Forty-two cases of AD were included. The prevalence was 0.5%. The median patient age was 37 years. The age of onset of AD was before the age of 15 years in 38% of the patients and after the age of 15 years in 61.9% of the patients. There was a female preponderance (female to male ratio, 2:1), but no correlation was found between sex and the severity of AD. People living in urban areas were the most affected. According to SCORAD, 37 cases presented moderate AD and 2 cases presented severe AD.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of AD in adult dermatology outpatients is still low, and moderate AD is the most frequent form, according to SCORAD.