Acquired Hair and Scalp Diseases in School-Age Children and in Adolescents.

Acquired hair and scalp disease in school children

Abstract

Background: Acquired Hair and Scalp Disease (AHSD) occurs globally, affects all ages and. the type of AHSD differs between school-age children and in adolescents. The objectives were to determine the prevalence and types of and, to compare types of acquired hair and scalp disorders (AHSD) between adolescents and school-age children as well as between genders.

Methodology: A multi-center cross-sectional descriptive study of 509 students over a four-month period was conducted in 2023: three schools. In this study, a school-age child was defined as aged ≤ 12 years and adolescents as ≥13 years. In Nigeria, school-age children (primary school children) are aged ≤ 12 years.¹⁷ Diagnosis was clinical. Data was analyzed using the IBM statistics version 26.

Results: The mean age of the students was 13.6 ±3.4 years. The prevalence of hair and scalp disease was 17.3%. Traction alopecia (TA), tinea capitis (TC) and seborrheic dermatitis (SD) were observed in 47.3%, 25.3% and 24.2% respectively. TC occurred more in school-age students, p<0.001, SD occurred more in the adolescents, p= 0.011. TC occurred more in males, p=<0.001, TA occurred more in females, p=<0.001 and acne folliculitis nuchae occurred only in males.

Conclusion: Acquired hair and scalp disease is not uncommon is children and the prevalent ones are traction alopecia, tinea capitis and seborrheic dermatitis. There is no age nor gender based difference in the occurrence of AHSD rather there is a significant difference in the type of AHSD based on age and gender.