Skin Diseases Among Top Global Causes of Disability Edited by Deepa Varma

TOPLINE:

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021 reported 44.84 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) because of skin and subcutaneous diseases.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers utilized data from the GBD Study 2021 to examine incidence, prevalence, and DALYs for 371 diseases and injuries across 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2021.
• Skin and subcutaneous diseases were categorized into 12 major types including dermatitis, psoriasis, bacterial skin diseases, scabies, fungal skin diseases, viral skin diseases, acne vulgaris, alopecia areata, pruritus, urticaria, bedsores, and other skin conditions.
• Disease burden was measured using years lived with disability (YLDs) and DALYs, with DALYs representing the combined sum of years of life lost to a disease and the YLDs.

TAKEAWAY:

• Skin diseases caused 44.84 million (1.56%) DALYs and 4.34% of YLDs in 2021, ranking as the 20th leading cause of global DALYs and the 7th leading cause of disability worldwide.
• Dermatitis, scabies, acne vulgaris, viral skin diseases, and urticaria were the five skin conditions with the highest global age-standardized DALY rates in 2021.
• The age-standardized DALY rate for basal cell carcinoma increased by 50.77% from 1990 to 2021, followed by acne vulgaris at 12.30% and pruritus at 10.91%.
• Women demonstrated higher age-standardized DALY rates than men (585.46 vs 555.51 per 100,000 persons).

IN PRACTICE:

“The burden of skin and subcutaneous diseases remains a significant global cause of disability, particularly in children, adolescents, and older persons,” the authors wrote. “The global data might help to guide the prioritization of research and measures to control skin diseases,” they added.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Pengcheng Huai, Hospital for Skin Diseases, Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China. It was published online as a research letter on April 11 in the British Journal of Dermatology.

LIMITATIONS:

The study’s methodology attributed disease burden only to immediate causes, potentially underestimating the impact of secondary complications. In addition, less common skin diseases were not analyzed separately.

DISCLOSURES:

This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.