Prevalence of Various Skin Disorders in School-Going Children of Kashmir Valley of North India: A Cross-Sectional Study

In a study involving 5,000 school children aged 6-19 in the Kashmir valley of North India, 69.38% were found to have skin disorders. Eczemas, particularly pityriasis alba, were the most common, followed by acne vulgaris. Skin disorders were more prevalent in males, urban residents, government school students, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Infectious dermatoses like verrucae vulgaris were exclusively observed in rural areas. The study also noted a 0.8% prevalence of psoriasis, a higher occurrence of vitiligo in males, and hair disorders such as androgenetic alopecia (found only in males) and telogen effluvium (more common in males). Eczema affected 23.3% of the children, with pityriasis alba impacting 15.8%, and acne vulgaris was most prevalent among those aged 15-17 years at 46.3%. Other conditions included melasma (1.5%), vitiligo (1.2%), androgenetic alopecia (1.4%), telogen effluvium (1.2%), canities (0.4%), and alopecia areata (0.2%).