title: Prevalence and risk factors of tinea capitis and tinea pedis in school children in Turkey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of tinea capitis and tinea pedis in school children in Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 8122 students from 24 schools in the rural and urban areas around Kayseri,Turkey. We asked every student for their personal identification and also for their sanitation in order to get an idea about dermatophytosis. Samples taken from suspicious lesions were collected and inoculated onto Sabouraud dextrose agar slants. For identification of grown fungi, macroscopic appearance of colonies, microscopic examination and biochemical tests were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 41 (0.5%) suspicious lesions in feet and 31 (0.3%) in scalp and 22 (0.2%) students were diagnosed as tinea pedis and 9 (0.1%) as tinea capitis by fungal culture. The predominant etiologic agents in feet were Trichophyton rubrum 8 (36%), Trichophyton mentagrophytes 1 (4%), Rhodotorula 8 (36%), Trichosporon 2 (9%), Candida glabrata 2 (9%), Candida albicans 1 (4%), while Trichophyton verrucosum 8 (88%) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes 1 (12%) were identified in scalp samples. School settlement was found as risk factors on the frequency of tinea pedis and capitis. Age and gender were also found as risk factors on the frequency of tinea pedis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study demonstrate a low prevalence of tinea capitis and tinea pedis in school children of central Anatolia of Turkey. School settlement is a very important factor affecting the prevalence of tinea capitis and pedis in school children in central Anatolia of Turkey.
authors.forename: Elcin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Balci
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gulgun
authors.forename: Oguzhan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Babacan
authors.forename: Abdulbaki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karaoglu
authors.forename: Vural
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kesik
authors.forename: Sirzat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yesilkaya
authors.forename: Turker
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Turker
authors.forename: Duran
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tok
authors.forename: Ayse Nedret
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Koc
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013334:Students; D014006:Tinea Capitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D014008:Tinea Pedis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology