Skin Biopsy Results of Geriatric Patients Over a 5-year Period and the Frequency of Skin Diseases Before and After COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective: The number of older adults has increased throughout the world. Aging affects all the organs and creates psychological, physiologic and anatomic changes. One of the most important organs of the human body is the skin, which shows the effects of aging the most. This study aims to determine whether age, gender, and season of biopsy play a significant role in skin biopsy results. Additionally, the study investigates whether the frequency of skin diseases differs before and after the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study on the histopathology results of patients over 65 years old between June 2016 and September 2021. The histopathology results were obtained from the Acibadem Pathology Department. Results: Of the 677 patients, 310 (45.8%) were male and 367 (54.2%) were female. The most common disease in all patients were benign cutaneous neoplasms (23%), followed by eczematous disease (18.5%) and epithelial cutaneous cancers (16.8%). We divided the results into 12 groups: group 1: Urticaria, erythema and purpuras, group 2: Papulosquamous and eczematous diseases, group 3: Infectious diseases, group 4: Rheumatologic diseases and alopecia, group 5: Benign cutaneous neoplasms, group 6: Precancerous lesions, group 7: Basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, group 8: Cutaneous metastasis and other skin cancers, group 9: Pigmentation disorders, group 10: Pschycology related dermatological disorders, group 11: Granulomatous dermatitis, group 12: Bullous dermatitis. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the most prevalent results were group 2 (21.3%), followed by group 5 (20.4%) and group 7 (16.7%) whereas, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the most frequent results were group 5 (28.4%) followed by group 7 (17.1%), and group 6 (14.9%). In terms of seasons, the most common diseases were group 5 (24.1%) in winter, group 2 (21.6%) in spring, group 5 (30.0%) in summer, and group 2 (18.9%) in autumn. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the most common result was group 2 (21.3%), followed by group 5 (20.4%) and group 7 (16.7%), and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the most common result was group 5 (28.4%), followed by group 7 (17.1%), group 6 (14.9%). Conclusion: Many skin diseases affect the geriatric population. Geriatric patients face challenges such as multiple drug use, comorbidities, mobility problems and cognitive disorders. In our study, the most common diseases in all patients were benign cutaneous neoplasms (23%), followed by eczematous diseases (18.5%), and epithelial cutaneous cancers (16.8%). Knowing about the frequency of skin diseases is critical for the early detection of precancerous and cancerous lesions.