Common skin disorders of aging: diagnosis and treatment

The incidence of skin disorders increases with age because of changes in skin structures and a lifetime accumulation of environmental insults. Photoaging, resulting from exposure to harmful ultraviolet wavelengths in sunlight, is responsible for many common skin disorders, from wrinkles to melanoma. Older patients also see their physicians with complaints of various types of dermatitis, including contact and seborrheic. Although skin disorders vary in severity, they all adversely affect an older patient's health and/or quality of life. Early recognition, prevention, and treatment of skin diseases by the primary care physician is therefore an important element in the overall care of the middle-aged and older patient.