Dermatological morbidities in tea garden population of a district attended in ICTC

Dr.Sushanta Bhanja; Dr.Mousumi Roy Bandyopadhyay; Dr.Bidyut Bandyopadhyay

Volume : V, Issue : IX, September - 2016

Dermatological morbidities in tea garden population of a district attended in ICTC

Dr. Sushanta Bhanja, Dr. Mousumi Roy Bandyopadhyay, Dr. Bidyut Bandyopadhyay

Abstract :

Background: Pattern of skin diseases vary widely in different regions, among diverse population groups. The study was undertaken in ICTC to find out dermatological morbities among tea garden population in a rural Medical College (North Bengal Medical College, Darjeeling). Aims: To find out pattern of dermatological diseases among tea garden population attended in ICTC Materials and methods: An observational cross sectional study was conducted in ICTC North Bengal Medical College, Darjeeling, West Bengal in March–April 2016. A total of 200 participants including children attended the ICTC with dermatological problems, and all the attendees were included in the study.Categorical data was expressed in proportion and chi–square test was applied to test the significance. Results: Among all dermatological conditions, proportion of infectious diseases was found highest(47.5%) and 41.0% had eczematous conditions. Scabies, tinea and impetigo contributed most of the infectious diseases (40%, 29.5% and 11.6% respectively). Eczematous diseases were mostly noticed on hand/finger–tip(65.9%). However 36% of study subjects suffered from miscellaneous dermatological conditions with or without infective and/or eczematous conditions. These miscellaneous conditions included melasma(30.6%),acne (20.8%) and some other conditions.Overcrowding,personal hygiene,contact history,tea garden related activities were associated as risk factors for skin diseases. Conclusion: The study identified various dermatological morbidities. It recommends further study involving large number of tea gardens to assess actual magnitude of dermatological diseases among tea garden habitants