Volume 12, Issue 6 (June 2025), Pages: 245-249
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Original Research Paper
The effect of socioeconomic status on the prevalence of scabies
Author(s):
Najlaa Siddig Nasir 1, Najwa Ismail Burhan 1, Mohamed Osman Elamin 2, *, Hatim A. Natto 3, Wahaj A. Khan 2, Hatim Matooq Badri 2, Ahmad Salah Alkathiri 4, Abdullah Muhammad Alzhrani 2, Abdallah Alhazmi 3, Waheeb D. Alharbi 5, Fowzi O. Elamin 4
Affiliation(s):
1Faculty of Public Health, Alazhari University, Khartoum North, Sudan 2Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia 3Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia 4Department of Health Promotion and Education, Faculty of Public Health and Health Informatics, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia 5Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
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* Corresponding Author.
Corresponding author's ORCID profile: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9655-8206
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2025.06.024
Abstract
Scabies is a common health issue in Sudan, influenced by factors such as poor hygiene, overcrowding, malnutrition, low socioeconomic status, and limited access to healthcare, particularly in developing regions. Globally, scabies accounted for 0.21% of DALYs in the Global Burden of Disease in 2015 study, with the highest burden observed in East and Southeast Asia, Oceania, and parts of Latin America. Despite its impact, there is limited data on scabies prevalence in Sudan. This cross-sectional, hospital-based study was conducted at El-Gadarif Dermatology Clinic from January to December 2019 to assess the effect of socioeconomic factors on the epidemiology of scabies. A total of 200 patients were selected using systematic random sampling, and data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results showed that most patients were male children and adolescents from low-income, overcrowded households with poor hygiene practices. Farmers, workers, and the unemployed represented the majority of cases. The findings confirm that poverty-related factors significantly contribute to scabies prevalence, even in severely resource-limited communities. Despite high transmission pressure, proper hygiene remains a potential protective factor. This study, the first of its kind in El-Gadarif State, highlights the urgent need for public education and stronger healthcare responses to reduce the disease burden in underserved populations.
© 2025 The Authors. Published by IASE.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords
Scabies prevalence, Socioeconomic factors, Public health, Hygiene practices, Overcrowding
Article history
Received 21 January 2025, Received in revised form 16 May 2025, Accepted 4 June 2025
Acknowledgment
No Acknowledgment.
Compliance with ethical standards
Ethical considerations
Ethical approval for this study was granted by the Elzaeem Alazhari administrative authority (Approval No. 033404.0022) and the Research Department of the State Ministry of Health. Additionally, written authorization was obtained from the administrative body of the city hospital where the study was conducted.
Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Citation:
Nasir NS, Burhan NI, Elamin MO, Natto HA, Khan WA, Badri HM, Alkathiri AS, Alzhrani AM, Alhazmi A, Alharbi WD, and Elamin FO (2025). The effect of socioeconomic status on the prevalence of scabies. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 12(6): 245-249
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