Half of people in Europe have suffered from a skin condition in the past 12 months

Just under half (47.9%) of all adults in Europe have suffered a skin problem or disease in the past 12 months, according to the European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology’s (EADV) Burden of Skin Diseases in Europe report.

The study, which aimed to gain a better understanding of the prevalence of skin diseases in the general population in Europe, found in its preliminary findings that among 21,401 members of the general population, 47.9% self-reported at least one skin condition but, on average, those people affected declared a median of two skin diseases.  

Projecting these figures to the total NEUKS (Norway, European Union, UK, and Switzerland) population of 408 million inhabitants aged 18 years shows that more than 195 million adults in Europe self-reported at least one skin condition.

The most common condition affecting those surveyed is a fungal skin infection, affecting almost one in 10 people (9.07%), the research found. Other conditions affecting more than one in 20 adults were atopic dermatitis aka eczema (5.34%), alopecia (5.22%) and acne (5.49%). 

The study is the largest undertaken of its kind in Europe, with data collated from 44,689 adults aged 18 and above from 27 European countries (including the UK). 

“As the leading European organisation in dermato-venereology, the EADV is taking on an important role in determining the prevalence and impact of skin disease across Europe,” said Marie-Aleth Richard, Professor at the University Hospital of La Timone, Marseille, and the EADV board member leading the survey. 

“The fact that one in two people across Europe live with skin disease on a daily basis makes the skin the most affected organ in the body and as an organisation we are therefore committed to making skin disease a public health priority.”

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