RESUMEN
Skin diseases are one of the common medical problems in population. According to dermatological journals only scant studies have estimated the prevalence of skin diseases in the general population. This study was performed to assess the prevalence of skin diseases in Hamedan rural areas in western Iran in 2002. A random cluster sampling carried out and 9450 residents in rural areas of Hamedan enrolled into the study. All participants were examined by specialist teams and skin biopsies were done when required. All examination results were recorded in relevant forms and were analysed. The most commonly observed skin diseases in study area were pityriasis alba [21%], melasma [18.5%], dermatitides [16.5%], nail disorders [13%], and acne [11.7%]. The most commonly involved anatomic areas were head and neck [66.0%], 58.3% of patients were male and the age range of all examined people was from 1 to 75 years. We found that prevalence and distribution of skin disorders in Hamedan are different from other parts of the world. Community-level education may reduce the severity and duration of these diseases resulting in a reduction of their burden of disease and public health improvement