PREVALENCE OF MELASMA AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG ADULT PATIENTS ATTENDING DERMATOVENEREOLOGY OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT OF SPHMMC, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA, 2025

Abstract

Background: Melasma is one of the most encountered dermatoses in dermatology clinics. It is a challenging chronic, recurrent condition associated with hyperpigmentation. Melasma affects all races and both genders, but is more prevalent in population with darker skin types and females. Little is known about the spectrum of pigmentary disorders in Ethiopia. Objective: - To assess Prevalence of melasma and its associated factors among adult patients attending dermatovenereology outpatient department of SPHMMC, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from July 2024 – December 2024 Methodology: Institution based cross-sectional study design was conducted from July 2024 – December 2024. The total sample size of the study was 293 patients attending SPHMMC Dermatovenereology out Patient department. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select study populations. Socio-demographic and related data were collected by using structured interview-based questionnaire. After cleaning the data, it was entered to Kobocollect version 2024.1.3 for entry and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 for analysis. Descriptive statistics were summarized using frequency, mean, and standard deviation and presented in tables and figures. Binary Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with melasma. Findings were presented using 95% CI of Crude Odds Ratios (COR) and Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR). P-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The find of the study found that the prevalence of melasma were 13% (95%CI=9, 17). The determinant factor of melasma were age of 41-50 years compared to age of 18-30 years (AOR=5.3, 95%CI=1.58, 17.56), sunscreen usage (AOR=9.2, 95%CI=3.36, 25.42), history of oral contraceptive (AOR=2.6, 95%CI=1.01, 60.49) and family history of melasma (AOR=2.6, 95%CI=1.89, 6.33). Conclusion: In this study a significant proportion of participants developed melasma (13%). middle age (41-50 years), sunscreen usage, oral contraceptive and family history of melasma were the predictive factor for developing melasma.