Epidemiology of skin diseases in Germany: systematic review of the current state of research – part 1: cutaneous tumor diseases

Abstract

SummaryEpidemiological data are of great importance for the identification of health care needs, the detection of gaps in care, the development of targeted prevention measures, and for the optimization of resource allocation. The aim of this work was to systematically collect all previously published population‐based epidemiological data on skin diseases in Germany. The present part 1 of the publication series deals with tumor diseases of the skin. The results on non‐infectious (part 2) and infectious skin diseases (part 3) form the other parts of this publication series.A systematic search of the literature spanning the last 15 years was conducted using the PubMed/MEDLINE database. With the aim of including all dermatologic diseases, a diagnostic list was developed based on the ICD‐11 catalogue. This list included 1,347 skin diseases and formed the basis for the search. The literature search yielded 4,650 publications. After two‐stage screening, 72 studies on 43 different skin diseases were included in the synthesis. Among them were 30 publications on cutaneous tumor diseases, the majority was related to malignant melanoma.This work is the first systematic literature review that aimed to report all available epidemiological data on skin diseases in Germany. In terms of study characteristics, a high heterogeneity was found for the different skin diseases. Even though the methodology of the included epidemiological studies varied considerably, the usefulness of these epidemiological data is extremely wide‐ranging. Thus, this work can serve as a reference for various epidemiological questions.

Epidemiology of skin diseases in Germany: systematic review of the current state of research – part 2: non‐infectious skin diseases

“…As far as we are aware, this study is the first ever literature search offering an overview of all available, population‐based publications on the epidemiology of skin diseases in Germany. A discussion on the methods used in this study can be found in part 1 of this publication series [5].…”

“…The largest number of publications referred to psoriasis and AE. The prevalences of these two dermatoses are markedly lower than, for example, senile lentigo (age spots), covered in part 1 of this publication series [5]. However, regarding the relevance for medical care, the fact that both psoriasis and AE are ‘classic’ chronic‐inflammatory skin diseases associated with pruritus, pain, and stigmatization should be considered.…”

“…After careful screening in a two‐step process, 72 publications were included in our review. A detailed description of the inclusion and exclusion criteria as well as the complete search string can be found in part 1 of this publication series [5].…”

“…Decimal points are stated according to the respective publications. 1 employed persons aged 16-70 years, 2 adults aged up to 74 years, 3 first-graders, 4 age-standardized, 5 children aged 5-6 and 9-10 ear, 6 adults aged 18-79 years, 7 adults aged 50-74 years, 8 adolescents aged 16-20 years, 9 adults aged 45-75 years, 10 adults aged 18 years and above, 11 adults aged 18-65 years.…”

“…The aim of our study was to generate comprehensive and valid epidemiological data on non-infectious skin diseases. A detailed description of the procedure, as well as a discussion on the methods, can be found in part 1 (cutaneous tumor diseases) [5]. This paper covers our results on non-infectious skin diseases.…”