Prevalence of skin diseases among students of Faculty of Physical Education in Assiut University

Introduction Skin lesions are common in athletes. Athletic activity may lead to new skin lesions or aggravate existing ones. Objectives To determine the prevalence of skin disorders among students of Faculty of Physical Education (college athletes) in Assiut University. Patients and methods A cross-sectional community-based survey was followed. Total coverage of first and second academic year students yielded 873 students of both sexes; their mean age was 18.8± 0.91 years. All patients were examined by the dermatologist. The lesions were categorized as traumatic, infective, aggravation of preexisting dermatoses, and environmental groups. Results It was found that 522 (59.8%) of the studied college athletes had one or more skin disorders. Traumatic injuries had the highest prevalence rate (23.9%) of the total sample, of which callus (11.5%) was the most common. As regards infections, fungal infections were the most common (17.2%) with tinea versicolor (10.1%) and pityrosporum folliculitis (5.7%) constituting the main portion. This is followed by bacterial infections (15.5%) with pitted keratolysis forming the major entity (13.1%), then viral infection (6.8%) of which warts were the most prevalent (5.7%), and lastly scabies (1.0%). Acne mechanica (8.3%) was the commonly aggravated disorder. Sunburn had the highest rate (4.5%) among environmental injuries (6.9%). Conclusion A variety of dermatoses was commonly prevalent among studied athletes. The major skin problems were traumatic injuries, fungal infections, pitted keratolysis, acne mechanica, warts, and sunburn. Early prevention, recognition, and treatment of these skin diseases should permit the athlete to continue participation without further disability or reduced performance.