THE PATTERN OF SKIN DISEASES AMONG PATIENTS ATTENDING PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTERS IN JEDDAH CITY, SAUDI ARABIA, 2012

Aim The current study aims at widening the scope of understanding factors potentiating the spread of skin diseases from the perspectives of medical geography through studying the geographic distribution of these diseases in Jeddah city in 2012. Materials and Methodology Recorded data about skin diseases patients were retrieved from the primary health care centers; it includes demographic characteristics of the patients namely: age, gender, nationality and place of residence. The data was analyzed for descriptive purposes and it was depicted on maps to illustrate the geographic distribution of the patients according to their demographic characteristics. Results A total of 3358 of skin diseases cases were seen in the primary health care centers in Jeddah in 2012, which represented 3.8% of attendants. 47% were males and 53% were females. Almost one-third of the patients (32.4%) were aged less than 15 years, and three quarters (76.8%) were aged below 45 years. Saudis constituted the overwhelming majority of the patients (93.7%). The incidence varied between districts; it was higher in the districts known as being of relatively lower socioeconomic status. Conclusions and Recommendations Although skin diseases are not seen common among patients attending primary health care centers in Jeddah city, their association with relatively low socioeconomic status indicates that most of these cases could be prevented if their living conditions are improved in addition to modifying their lifestyles, particularly those related to personal hygiene through planned health education campaign.