A Global Study of Skin and Subcutaneous Diseases Among Individuals Under 20 Years of Age.

Source: PubMed, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine

Skin diseases are chronic and recurrent conditions that impose substantial disability and long-term psychosocial burden. However, the global burden of pediatric skin diseases has been insufficiently studied. We extracted age-specific data for individuals younger than 20 years from GBD 2021. A comprehensive analytical framework was applied, including Joinpoint regression analysis, SDI frontier analysis, Bayesian age-period-cohort (BAPC) modeling, and ARIMA time-series forecasting to evaluate temporal trends and predict future disease burden. The age definition (<20 years) follows the standard GBD age grouping for children and adolescents. Globally, the burden of skin and subcutaneous diseases increased from 653,365.48 to 860,806.73 DALYs (EAPC = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.43-0.47). ARIMA forecasting suggested that dermatitis and other skin diseases will decline in China and Europe but rise in the United States. Children aged 5-9 years had the lowest burden, while those under 5 years and aged 15-19 years showed higher DALYs, mainly driven by atopic dermatitis and acne. The burden of pediatric skin diseases has generally increased globally, although trends vary across regions and disease categories. Acne and atopic dermatitis are the dominant contributors to disability. These findings provide actionable evidence for prioritizing pediatric dermatology in global and regional public health strategies.