SKIN DISEASES IN IMMIGRANTS SEEN AS OUT-PATIENTS IN THE INSTITUTE-OF-DERMATOLOGY OF THE UNIVERSITY-OF-ROME-LA-SAPIENZA FROM 1989 TO 1994

In the Institute of Dermatology of the University of Rome 'La Sapienza ' (IDURLS) from 1989 to 1994, 2198 immigrants from countries outside t he European Community were seen as out-patients. Their personal and pa thological data were collected by a particular software 'Questio', set up together with colleagues of the Interdepartimental Center for Scie ntific Calculous (ICSC) of the University of Pome 'La Sapienza'. The n umber of patients has been increasing from 326 in 1989 to 436 in 1994. Most of the people were coming from Africa, but from 1989 to 1994 the number of patients from the regions of ex-Yugoslavia has been increas ing. About one third of the immigrants were unemployed, whereas 40% of them had a job (worker or employee), and the remaining 20% was compos ed by students and housewives. Most immigrants (1474 patients) were 20 -39-year-old. Their data were compared with those of a control group c omposed by 2100 Italian people of the same age and sex, seen as out-pa tients in IDURLS in the same period. The most frequent skin disorders observed in immigrants were skin infectious or parasitic diseases, abo ve all scabies. Excluding people with scabies, both immigrants and Ita lian patients shared the same skin diseases typical of young adult peo ple: many fungal infections, many contact dermatitis and very few skin malignant tumors.