Prevalence and characteristics of psoriasis among a sample of preparatory school students in rural Egypt: an exploratory study

Background/objectives The prevalence of psoriasis shows a worldwide geographic variation ranging from 0 up to 11.8%. This reflects the fact that psoriasis is a complex disease influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. The prevalence of psoriasis in children younger than 18 years of age was reported to be 0.40%; however, data about its true prevalence among children in Egypt and the Middle East region are scanty, especially among younger age groups living in rural areas. This work was performed to explore the prevalence and characteristics of psoriasis among a sample of preparatory school students in a rural community in Fayoum, Egypt. Patients and methods This cross-sectional study included 3061 preparatory school students with ages between 13 and 15 years from five rural public preparatory schools in Fayoum, Sinouris rural district. The demographic and disease-related data were collected by an assisted self-administrated questionnaire sheet. Clinical examination of all recruits was performed, and disease data for patients with psoriasis were recorded, including extent of the disease and psoriasis severity using the psoriasis area and severity index score. Results The prevalence of psoriasis was 0.1% among all of the examined students in the study, with a female-to-male ratio of 3 to 1. The most important triggering factor was changes in seasons and climate, as 50% of the patients worsened in winter. The extent and severity of psoriasis among affected children was mild. Conclusion The prevalence and genetic background of psoriasis was low with only mild forms of psoriasis identified among rural preparatory school students in Fayoum, Sinouris district.