Factors associated with the occurrence of various skin fungal infections in patients at Al-Qadisiyah Province, Iraq.

INTRODUCTION: Fungal infections may damage the skin and become invasive with the possibility of spreading to other individuals. The goal of the current study was to detect the most common fungal agents causing skin infections, and to investigate the various factors associated with such infections. METHODOLOGY: The study involved 100 patients; who had suffered from various skin infections. All information related to the site of lesion, age, gender, date of collection, and history was recorded. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 27. RESULTS: All the patients included in the study were diagnosed clinically and confirmed by laboratory diagnosis. The skin infections were caused by dermatophytes (72%), Trichophyton rubrum (56.9%), Microsporum canis (20.8%), and yeast (24%). Among the yeast infections, 54.2% were by Malassezia furfur, and 45.8% by Candida albicans. There was significant association between type of fungal infection and age group, and the majority of the patients with dermatophytes were ≤ 30 years old. Males constituted 62% and females 38%. There was a significant association between the type of fungal infection and family history of patients, and there was a positive association with households with animals. CONCLUSIONS: Dermatophytes (such as Trichophyton rubrum, Microsporum canis) were a crucial health problem. Males were more susceptible to fungal skin infections than females, with the majority of infections happening in the 11-40 years age group. Households with animals and family history of infection had significant association with the occurrence of fungal skin infections.