A CLINICO-EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY ON VARIOUS PATTERNS OF FACIAL DERMATOSES IN YOUNG ADULT FEMALES: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY.

INTRODUCTION: The face, or countenance, extends superiorly from the adolescent position of hairline, inferiorly to the chin and the base of mandible and on each side to the auricle. The wellbeing of the human psyche and our self-regard often seems dependent on what we perceive is an attractive facial appearance. Apart from the visibility of facial skin and the major impact it has on the psychological wellbeing of the individual, one of the major reasons for the special nature of facial dermatoses is that, the facial skin differs markedly from the skin of the other regions of the body. This makes the facial dermatoses stand apart, both in terms of the clinical presentation as well as therapeutic approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a Hospital based cross sectional study was conducted in the Department of skin and VD, SCB medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. The cases presented in the study were young female patients attending with features of facial dermatoses. All young adult female patients presenting with complaints of facial dermatosis. A detailed clinical history including onset and evolution of lesion, socio-economic factors, and environment in which the patients were living was noted. A thorough clinical examination, dermoscopy and relevant laboratory investigations if needed were done. The data thus collected was entered into a specially designed case record and subjected two statistical analyses like proportion, Chi-Square test and independent 't-test. RESULTS: Contact dermatitis 105(75%) was the most common eczematous disorder in this group, followed by seborrheic dermatitis 33(23.5%) and atopic dermatitis 2(1.5%). Most of the patients of contact dermatitis group were belonging to mid-economic status (49.5%) and cosmetic products 49 (46.6%) constituting major culprit followed by sindoor (16.19%). Pruritus was the most common symptom observed in majority of the patients. Total no of cases observed in this group was 32. Among them milia constituting maximum no of cases 13 (40.06%) followed by xanthelasma palpebrarum 8 (25%). Xanthelasma palpebrarum was observed in 8 cases. Most of them belong to the age group of 31-35 years (75%). History of diabetes mellitus was observed in 3 cases and family history was associated with 2 cases. CONCLUSION: This study was undertaken to assess the various dermatoses affecting the face and their different presentations among young adult females. Compared with other skin disorders early identification and characterization of facial skin disorders were difficult. Many of the studies explained individual dermatoses of face. To conclude, a study with a wider and larger population is necessary to understand the epidemiology of facial dermatoses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]