Prevalence and awareness of tinea pedis in Italian sailors

It is difficult to carry out studies on the prevalence of tinea pedis in the community. Some studies are performed on selected groups of subjects, exposed to the same risk factors, i.e. schoolchildren, public bathers, athletes and military men.

The aim of this work was to detect in a sample of military men the prevalence of tinea pedis and the awareness of their condition, and to relate the infection to risk factors of the group as well.

410 male Italian navy cadets in an Italian navy petty officers school were clinically examined and mycological cultures were performed, employing the skin scrapings obtained from suspected lesions.

Dermatophytes were isolated from toe clefts in 10 subjects, giving a point prevalence of 2.4% (95% confidence interval 1.3-4.4%). The isolated dermatophytes were Trichophyton mentagrophytes (70%), Trichophyton rubrum (20%) and Epidermophyton floccosum (10%). None of the subjects was aware of his disease. No significant association was observed between tinea pedis and risk factors (i.e. hyperhidrosis and habits).

The prevalence in our sample was lower than that observed in previous studies on military men. That can be attributed to the general amelioration of hygienic conditions and strengthening of preventive habits. Therefore the prevalence of tinea pedis in Italian sailors seems to be reduced but still rather relevant. That is important because these subjects are a reservoir of ringworm infection.