Prevalence and determinants of seborrheic dermatitis in a middle aged and elderly population: the Rotterdam Study

Abstract

Background

Seborrheic dermatitis is a chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disease with unclear pathophysiological mechanisms.

Objective

To establish which lifestyle and physiological determinants are associated with seborrheic dermatitis.

Methods

Seborrheic dermatitis was diagnosed by a trained physician during a full body skin examination within the Rotterdam Study, a prospective population-based cohort study in middle aged and elderly. The current design is a comparative cross-sectional study embedded in the Rotterdam Study. Potential factors were identified from the literature and analysed in a multivariable logistic regression, including: age, sex, obesity, skin colour, stress, depression, education level, hypertension, climate, xerosis cutis, alcohol and tobacco use.

Results

Of the 5,498 participants, 788 participants were diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis (14.3%). We found associations between seborrheic dermatitis and male sex (adjusted OR 2.09; 95% CI: 1.77-2.47), darker skin (adjusted OR 0.39; 95% CI: 0.22-0.69), season (summer vs winter: adjusted OR 0.63; 95% CI: 0.48-0.82) and generalized xerosis cutis (adjusted OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.12-1.80).

Conclusion

Seborrheic dermatitis is one of most common inflammatory dermatoses in middle and elderly aged individuals, especially during winter period. Men, and people with a light and dry skin were most likely to have seborrheic dermatitis.

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