Original articleEpidemiologic trends in pediatric tinea capitis: A population-based study from Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Section snippets
Methods
This was a retrospective database analysis of 2 separate cohorts. The first cohort, hereafter termed “diagnosis cohort,” was identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnosis code for TC (110.0, dermatophytosis scalp and beard). To obtain an alternative estimate of TC, a second cohort, hereafter termed “first-time prescription cohort,” was ascertained based on first-time prescriptions for oral antifungal medications
Demographics
An average of 672,373 children per year met the inclusion criteria, of which 49% were girls in both 1998 and 2007. Reported ethnicity in 1998 was 9.3% African American, 17.6% Hispanic, 11.8% Asian, 42.2% white, 3.2% others, and 15.9% unknown. In 2007 these proportions were 7.6% African American, 21.7% Hispanic, 14.2% Asian, 32.7% white, 4.3% others, and 19.5% unknown. Mean ages ranged from 6.9 to 8.1 years (diagnosis cohort) and 7.1 to 8 years (first-time prescription cohort) over the study
Incidence
In this population-based study, there was a significant downward trend in the incidence of TC over the study period. Historical comparison shows a rate per 10,000 of 19.3 in 1984 and 80 in 1993 based on KPNC griseofulvin prescriptions,8 compared with KPNC oral antifungal prescriptions of 51 in 1998 and 38.9 in 2007 in our prescription cohort. Although the identification of TC cases in these 2 studies was slightly different, it suggests a peak incidence of TC in the mid to late 1990s. Using
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Cited by (0)
Supported by Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Benefits Grant.
Conflicts of interest: None declared.