Low prevalence of skin diseases among patients in a Japanese nursing home

Although increasing numbers of the elderly Japanese reside in nursing homes, few epidemiological studies on skin diseases have been undertaken. We studied this issue in 135 nursing home residents in Yamanashi prefecture, central Japan. Approximately two‐thirds of participants were female (65.9%), with dementia (42.2%), stroke (38.5%) and heart disease (34.1%) being the most common underlying conditions. Age ranged from 50 to 98 years, with an average of 78.6 years. Total duration of stay within the nursing home ranged from 13 to 44 months, with an average stay of 21.7 months, or approximately 1.8 years. Approximately 1 in 12 participants were bedridden (8.1%). Fungal infection (including candida, tinea manum, tinea pedis and tinea unguium) was the most common condition (4.4%), followed by dermatitis (1.5%) and senile xerosis (1.5%). Overall, the prevalence of skin disease was considerably lower than in previous international reports, possibly due to a ‘healthy‐patient effect’. Further research needs to be undertaken to elucidate the overall prevalence of skin disease among Japanese nursing home residents.