International Journal of Circumpolar Health (Dec 2024)

Skin diseases among adults in Tasiilaq, East Greenland

  • Morten B. Haulrig,
  • Anna M. Andersson,
  • Julia-Tatjana Maul,
  • Jingyuan Xu,
  • Su M. Lwin,
  • Carsten Flohr,
  • Lone S. Hove,
  • Tove Agner,
  • Anders Koch,
  • Christopher E. M. Griffiths,
  • Claus Zachariae,
  • Jacob P. Thyssen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2024.2412378
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 83, no. 1

Abstract

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Cold climate and unique genetic and environmental factors may influence the prevalence of skin diseases in Greenland. However, there is a lack of epidemiological studies on skin diseases in the adult Greenlandic population. To address this unmet need a cross-sectional study, run by dermatologists from Denmark, the UK, and Switzerland estimated the prevalence and clinical manifestations of skin diseases among adults in East Greenland in May 2022. All adults ≥18 years in the town of Tasiilaq were invited, and 295 individuals aged 18–78 years participated (22.5% of the overall adult population in Tasiilaq). Two-hundred and three participants (69%) had visible signs of current skin disease, and among these, 242 cases of dermatoses were identified. The most common skin diseases were hand eczema (22.4%), lichen simplex (9.5%), discoid eczema (7.1%), psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and acne vulgaris (5.8% each). Scabies was the most frequent infectious skin disease (4.4%). No cases of skin cancer were identified. Atopic dermatitis and psoriasis presented with disease that was of limited extent and different from the classical presentations. Skin diseases showed a high prevalence among adults in East Greenland, and some of them were severe. This indicates a noteworthy public health problem that warrants better access to dermatologist support.

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