Prevalence and Pattern of Dermatoses among Narikuravar Tribal Community in Rural Tamilnadu - A Community based Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Narikuravar is a nomadic tribal population whose cultural and behaviour pattern is distinct. Traditionally Narikuravars are hunters, as the name means “fox” or “jackal hunters”. They generally dwell in poor sanitary conditions which make them vulnerable to skin diseases. This study was done to determine the prevalence of dermatoses along with its associated risk factors in Narikuravar community.

Methods: This study was carried among the colonies of Narikuravar tribal community residing in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu within 50 km radius from Sri Mankula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital (SMVMCH), Madagadipet Puducherry. Sampling was done by snow ball sampling method and total of 250 individuals were recruited and interviewed using a standardized questionnaire on socio demographic details, history of skin symptoms, sites involved, duration of exposure to sun, hours of working per day, housing, overcrowding, exposure to pets, sharing clothes with friends / family members. General examination and cutaneous examination were done on study participants. Data was entered in Excel and analysed using IBM SPSS statistics version 20. Percentages and proportions are used to present the pattern and prevalence of dermatoses. Bivariate and Multivariate logistic regression were used to assess the significance of association between dependent and independent variables.

Results: Among 250 respondents around 200 respondents (90.9%) had skin diseases in them. Among those had skin lesions around 35.5% participants had fungal infections, 23% had parasitic infestations, 10.5% had inflammatory dermatosis, 6.5% had acne, 6% had urticaria and 12.8% participants constitutes other miscellaneous skin diseases.

Conclusion: There is a high burden of skin diseases among tribal community. Most commonly associated dermatoses include Fungal infection followed by parasitic infestations, inflammatory dermatosis, acne and seborrheic dermatitis.