Prevalence of actinic keratosis in patients attending the dermatology outpatient clinic

Actinic keratoses (AKs) are precancerous epidermal lesions that develop on sensitive, frequently sun-exposed skin surfaces. There are very little data regarding AK prevalance. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of AK and related conditions among patients in a dermatology outpatient clinic. Patients attending our dermatology outpatient clinic between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2017 were evaluated retrospectively usingan automated system. A total of 54,786 patients aged ≥30 years attending the dermatology outpatient clinic were included in the study. We identified 1375 patients diagnosed with AK. In our study, the AK prevalence was 0.01% for patients between 30 and 39 years of age, 0.45% for patients between 40 and 49 years of age, 1.77% for patients between 50 and 59 years of age, 4.61% for patients between 60 and 69 years of age, 9.38% for patients between 70 and 79 years of age, and 14.57% for patients ≥80 years. AK prevalence was 2.50% among patients of all ages. The exposure to sunlight is excessive due to the geographical location of our country. Due to the tendency of AKs to convert to malignancies, the identification of patients at high risk for AK development and the identification of high-risk anatomical regions are important to establish the basis of effective screening programs to support public health.