Factors Associated with the Occurrence of Skin Diseases among Children Attending the Children’s Outpatient Clinic in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Southern Nigeria

Aims: To determine the factors associated with the occurrence of skin diseases among children attending the Children’s Outpatient Clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH).

Study Design: A Cross sectional study design was used. It was both descriptive and analytical.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the Children’s Outpatient Clinic of the Department of Paediatrics, UPTH from June to August 2020 (3 months).

Methodology: We studied 370 children aged less than 18 years. A semi structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain all relevant data. This was followed by dermatological examination of the children to make diagnosis of skin diseases. Relevant samples for laboratory confirmation were also obtained where necessary.

Results: Among the 88 children (23.7%) who had skin diseases, our study showed that the socio-demographic factors associated with the occurrence of skin diseases includes: male gender (p=0.001) and low socio-economic class (p<0.001). Hygiene-related factors associated with occurrence of skin diseases includes: lack of water within the home (p=0.001), bath frequency < twice per day (p=0.001) and sharing of personal items (p<0.001). On multiple logistic regression analysis of these factors, the factors predictive of skin diseases were: male gender (p=0.000), low and middle socioeconomic class (p=0.004) and lack of water within the home (p=0.013).

Conclusion: Several socio-demographic and hygiene-related factors were identified to be associated with the occurrence of skin diseases among children in our study. These factors provide an important window for interventions to prevent and control the burden of skin diseases among children in our setting.