Prevalence and Associated Factors of Skin Cancer in Aged Nursing Home Residents: A Multicenter Prevalence Study

In 2019, three studies were conducted to investigate the prevalence of skin cancer in elderly nursing home residents. The first study involved 4,099 participants from 45 nursing homes and found that 3.9% of the participants had skin cancer. Risk factors included being male, having a lighter skin type, and a history of outdoor work. The second study, conducted in Berlin, Germany, involved 223 residents and found that 21.1% had actinic keratosis, a pre-cancerous skin lesion, and 7.2% had non-melanoma skin cancer. Male sex was associated with actinic keratosis, while female sex and smoking were associated with non-melanoma skin cancer. The third study found that nearly 20% of the residents were affected by actinic keratosis and 7.2% by non-melanoma skin cancer. Male sex was associated with actinic keratosis, while female sex and previous smoking were associated with non-melanoma skin cancer. A weak positive association between actinic keratosis and alopecia was also found. All studies suggested that regular skin checks and early diagnosis could be beneficial in this population.