The Prevalence of Demodex spp. Infestation in Dermatological Patients in Northern Poland

The presence of <i>Demodex</i> spp. mites on the skin is a common phenomenon in the human population. In most people, it is an asymptomatic infestation, but in some patients, it can contribute to the occurrence of diseases such as demodicosis, rosacea, or blepharitis, as well as non-specific symptoms. In this study, the results of tests assessing the presence of <i>Demodex</i> spp. by direct microscopic examination (DME) in 2508 patients from northern Poland with the suspicion of demodicosis were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 3684 tests were performed. Among them, only 1585 (43.02%) revealed the presence of <i>Demodex</i> spp., while 2099 (56.98%) were negative. It was shown that in the analyzed population of patients with clinical suspicion of demodicosis, the degree of confirmation of the presence of <i>Demodex</i> spp. positively correlated with the patient's age (<i>p</i> = 0.001) and the mite was mainly found on the edges of eyelids and on the facial skin. Additionally, in men, the presence of <i>Demodex</i> was more often confirmed than in women (<i>p</i> = 0.004). In conclusion, the proper diagnosis of demodicosis still constitutes an important clinical problem due to the non-specificity of symptoms and the low confirmation of clinical suspicions of infestation by DME, especially in lower age groups.