Prevalence of Skin Disease in Urban Haiti: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The prevalence of skin disease varies with geographic location and may be affected by cultural factors. In Haiti, the combination of poor health care access, infrastructure lack, and natural disasters may affect the prevalence of skin conditions. Unfortunately, little epidemiological information has been obtained on the prevalence of skin diseases in Haiti. The objective of this study is to describe data on the prevalence of dermatological conditions in urban areas of Haiti. Univariate, bivariate, and χ2 analyses were used to evaluate associations. During February 2016, we documented 137 patients. The mean age was 27.7 years; most of the subjects were women (61.3%) in a cohort mostly adult (67.1%). The infectious and inflammatory dermatoses were the most prevalent (74.2%). Infectious skin diseases were more prevalent in men and in adults in general (p < 0.01). Inflammatory conditions were also more common in adults (p < 0.05). Additionally, alopecia and dyschromia were limited to women (p < 0.01). Infectious skin diseases, in particular fungal infections, were amongst the most common diagnoses in the urban area of Haiti. Therefore, improved access to antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory medications would likely benefit Haitian patients with dermatological conditions. These findings may help local public health officials and future dermatological expeditions better serve this population.

The prevalence of nonmelanoma skin cancer in a population of patients with oculocutaneous albinism in Haiti.

BACKGROUND: Multiple studies have examined the prevalence of nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSC) in patients with oculocutaneous albinism (OCA). However, to date, no studies have examined this data in Caribbean populations. METHODS: This study is a cross-sectional study of 106 patients with OCA who were seen at the Oculocutaneous Albinism Clinic in Port-au-Prince and Gros Morne, Haiti, between the dates of February 2017 and June 2018. RESULTS: In our population, 31/106 (29%) patients were found to have NMSC, 10/31 (32%) had BCC, 12/31 (39%) had SCC, and 9/31 (29%) had both types of NMSC. The most common age groups were 31-40 years, with the overall range of ages being 18-63 years. Also, 60/106 (57%) of the patients had actinic keratoses (AK). CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides new data examining the prevalence of NMSC within a population of patients with OCA in Haiti. Overall, it shows that patients with albinism develop NMSC at an earlier age compared with the rest of the population. Therefore, appropriate skin cancer screening and surveillance should be implemented within this high-risk population group.