Abstract:

Aim: The hair and scalp diseases in children are studied in a wide spectrum. The aim of this study is to evaluate the hair and scalp diseases during childhood. Materials and methods: The records of 5385 patients under 18 years of age, who were admitted to dermatology outpatient clinic between February 2015 and February 2018, were screened. Five hundred and forty six patients having hair and scalp diseases, without any missing information, were included in the study. Results: Of 5385 patients, 546 (10.13%) had hair and scalp diseases. The mean age of patients (337 females and 209 males) were 11.77±4.34 years (1 months-17 years). There were 12 types of hair and scalp diseases. The rate of diseases causing cicatricial alopecia was 2.74%. Seborrheic dermatitis, alopecia areata, telogen effluvium, pityriasis capitis simplex, psoriasis, and tinea capitis were the most common diseases (33.2%, 15.9%, 14.1%, 12.3%, 10.8%, and 7.7%, respectively). Pityriasis capitis simplex and telogen effluvium in females; alopecia areata, tinea capitis and androgenic alopecia in males were significantly higher (p<0.05). Seborrheic dermatitis, telogen effluvium and androgenic alopecia in patients above 12 years of age; pityriasis amiantacea, alopecia areata and tinea capitis in patients under 12 years of age were significantly higher (p<0.05). Conclusion: The most frequent hair and scalp diseases were seborrheic dermatitis, alopecia areata, and telogen effluvium during childhood. Frequency and ratio of these diseases altered according to age and gender. Early diagnosis and treatment of these diseases may affect positively on growth and psycholocial development of children.

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