Pattern of skin and skin related disorders in Libya: (8 years observational descriptive study)
Abstract
Skin diseases are common and represent major burden, and studying their pattern can help decrease it. In Libya studies are deficient in that regard. The aim of this study is to describe the pattern of different skin diseases that have been diagnosed in population of 313 patients from the western part of Libya. The data were collected from pathology department, medical faculty Tripoli University during the period 1990 to 1998 from different hospitals around the western territory of Libya, and categorized according to histopathological results. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the distribution by age, sex category. The results of the statistical investigation indicated that the average age of the patients was 39.125 ± (14.750), with slight male predominance. The most common site of skin lesion was the head (15.3%). benign tumors were the most frequent skin disorders (38.3%) followed by malignant tumor (24%), dermatitis (9.6%) and
basal cell carcinoma was the most common diagnosis overall (13.7%), infectious diseases were low (3.2%). benign tumors predominate in all age groups followed by malignant except in patients more than 60 years in which malignant tumor was more common, also we found a significant difference between female and male patients.
The study showed significant relation between age groups and type of skin disease. The observed pattern of histopathologic diagnoses in the study provides valuable information to better promote medical training adapted to the type of local skin burden and needs.
