Frequency of xerosis leading to asteatotic eczema in geriatrics presenting to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital,Karachi

Objective to determine the frequency of xerosis and asteatotic eczema in the elderly. methods this cross-sectional study included 248 geriatric patients,at the department of dermatology,abbasi shaheed hospital,karachi,in out-patient department. their ages,gender and dermatological diagnosis of xerosis and asteatotic eczema were recorded and analyzed using spss version 11. results of 248 patients,143 (57.7%) patients were males and 105 (42.3%) patients were females. the age range was from 65 to 90 years,with the mean age being 72.36±7.48 years. out of 143 male patients,20 (14%) were suffering from asteatotic eczema and out 105 female patient only 4 (3.8%) patient were suffering from asteatotic eczema. total 24 (10%) patients developed asteatotic eczema. the longer the duration of disease the more were the chances of developing asteatotic eczema. conclusion xerosis is a common condition in older adults. intrinsic aging of the skin may predispose the patient to xerosis,but it is not a foregone conclusion that all older adults will develop this troublesome condition. identifying and addressing xerosis may be viewed as an integral part of maintaining skin integrity. this is especially important in seniors,since aging skin experiences anatomic changes resulting in altered physiologic behavior and susceptibility to disease6.