Jornal de Pesquisa em Dermatologia Clínica e Experimental
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Prevalence and Risk Factors of Verruca Vulgaris among Primary School Children in Madinah and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Ahmed Zahr Allayali, Khulood Fallatah, Sarah Alorfi and Bayan Mogharbel

Skin diseases are common contributors to disease morbidity worldwide, particularly among school children. Although skin diseases are rarely lethal, they can have a significant impact in terms of treatment cost, absence from school, and psychological distress. Verruca vulgaris (cutaneous warts) is a common skin problem in children that commonly affects the hands and feet.
Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of warts among primary school children in Saudi Arabia to compare characteristics between children with and those without warts and to investigate the possible risk factors associated with the development of warts.
Method: This school-based, cross-sectional study conducted among primary school children in the cities of Medina and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia included 730 children, 298 males and 432 females, with mean age was 11.2 ± 1.5 years from 15 randomly chosen public and private primary schools: eight public schools (four boys’ and four girls’) and two private schools (one boys’ and one girls’ school) from Medina and five girls’ schools from Jeddah (four public and one private). We collected data via interviews and a questionnaire and through the examination of each child’s hands, feet, head, and neck for warts.
Results: Our results showed that the prevalence of warts was 9.04%. Approximately 65% of the children with warts were boys. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the children were found to have acute diseases. Boys and girls significantly differed regarding de novo and recurrent warts, with a higher proportion of de novo warts observed in boys. Boys tended to have a greater number of warts than girls, with the warts being smaller in size and persisting for longer durations, although these differences were not statistically significant. Risk factors were shown to be male sex, attending a public school, a large family size, smoking, working, sports activities, and handling domestic and farm animals at home. Having a highly-educated father appeared to reduce the risk.
Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of warts among primary school children in Medina and Jeddah and elucidated the risk factors for the development of warts. This may help in the development of effective health messages about methods for preventing skin diseases.