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Sensitive skin in France: a study on prevalence, relationship with age and skin type and impact on quality of life
Author(s) -
Misery L.,
Jourdan E.,
Huet F.,
Brenaut E.,
Cadars B.,
Virassamynaïk S.,
Sayag M.,
Taieb C.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of the european academy of dermatology and venereology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.655
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1468-3083
pISSN - 0926-9959
DOI - 10.1111/jdv.14837
Subject(s) - sensitive skin , medicine , skin type , dry skin , dermatology , epidemiology , skin cancer , demography , pathology , cancer , sociology
Background Many epidemiological studies have been performed, but a potential increase in the prevalence of sensitive skin, its relationship with age and skin type and the impact of sensitive skin on quality of life are still debated. Objective To answer these unresolved questions. Methods An opinion poll was conducted on a representative French 5000 person sample. Results Fifty‐nine per cent of the people declared very sensitive or fairly sensitive skin (together: sensitive skin), and women (66%) declared sensitive skin more frequently than men (51.9%). The results also showed that sensitive skin is more common (more than 60%) in younger people (<35 years old), and there was a decrease in the following age groups. The univariate analysis demonstrated that sensitive skin was more likely to be reported by people with fair skin ( OR = 1.83) and by people with an atopic predisposition ( OR = 2.51). The risk of sensitive skin is higher for people with dry skin ( OR = 6.18 compared with normal skin), but sensitive skin can occur in other skin types ( OR = 2.45 for mixed skin and OR = 2.16 for greasy skin). Quality of life was clearly altered in patients with sensitive skin, as assessed by SF ‐12 and DLQI . Conclusion This large study demonstrates that sensitive skin can alter quality of life and is more common in young people and in women as well as patients with dry skin or fair skin or an atopic predisposition. It also suggests that there is an increase in the prevalence of sensitive skin.