Population aging is a major challenge in the global healthcare field. Due to pathological and physiological changes in ageing skin, skin injuries are highly prevalent in older population. And epidemiological studies on skin injuries in this population has become a research hotspot recently.

To examine the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of three types of skin injuries 〔pressure injuries (PI) , incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) and skin tears (ST) 〕in elderly inpatients using a multicenter cross-sectional study, providing a basis for formulating strategies for the prevention of skin injuries in older people.

A multicenter study was carried out in 52 hospitals selected from 16 provinces, two autonomous regions and two municipalities of China, from which 1 067 nurses who had completed the online homogenization training conducted by our research group and passed the relevant examination were selectedas investigators. Every 2-3 nurses were divided into a investigation group. Eligible older inpatients were selected as participants. Full body skin examination for screening skin injuries was conducted in participants in each hospital by nurses using the same tools and methods. PI, IAD and ST were defined and classified by relevant international guideline or expert consensus, respectively. Then demographics, length of stay (LOS) , chronic disease history, use of medications in the past month, living independence and risk of PI assessed by the Braden Scale of the participants were collected. After that, two nurses of each group signed to confirm the results, and uploaded to https://www.wjx.cn. SPSS 22.0 was used for statistical analysis.

A total of 14 675 elderly inpatients were investigated, and all of them responded effectively (100.0%) . The respondents had an average age of (73.5±9.0) years and a median LOS of 7 (4, 13) days, among whom 56.3% (8 262/14 675) were men, and 43.7% (6 413/14 675) were women; 95.5% (14 020/14 675) were Han people, and 4.5% (655/14 675) were 19 ethnic minorities. The overall prevalence of the three types of skin injuries was 6.0% (881/14 675) , of which the prevalence of PI, IAD, ST and at least two types of skin injuries was 3.3% (484/14 675) , 1.4% (199/14 675) , 0.8% (110/14 675) and 0.6% (88/14 675) , respectively. Epidemiologic characteristics: Han people had higher prevalence of skin injuries compared with ethnic minorities (6.2% vs 2.9%, P=0.001) . Eighty-year-olds had higher prevalence of skin injuries than 71-80-year-old (10.2% vs 6.1%, P<0.001) and 60-70-year-old (10.2% vs 3.8%, P<0.001) . Those suffering from at least two chronic diseases had higher prevalence of skin injuries compared with those without chronic diseases (5.7%-12.0% vs 2.9%, P<0.005) or those with only one chronic disease (5.7%-12.0% vs 4.4%, P<0.005) . Users of two or more medications had higher prevalence of skin injuries compared with non-medication users (6.1%-10.2% vs 2.7%, P<0.005) or users of one medication (6.1%-10.2% vs 4.6%, P<0.005) . Those with LOS of over 30 days had higher prevalence of skin injuries compared with those with LOS of 8-30 days (10.7% vs 4.4%, P<0.016 7 ) or ≤7 days (10.7% vs 7.1%, P<0.016 7) . The prevalence of skin injuries in those with PI risk was higher than that in those without risk (20.5% vs 1.6%, P<0.05) . The prevalence of skin injuries in dependent-living individuals was higher than that of independent-living individuals (7.0% vs 0.9%, P<0.05) . The frequently-occurring sites were caudal sacral (57.9%) and heel (14.3%) for PI, peri-anal region (68.3%) and hip fissure (24.6%) for IAD, and lower limbs (38.2%) and upper limbs (28.2%) for ST. PI combined with IAD mostly occurred in sacrococcygeal region (71.0%) . PI combined with ST were common in sacrococcygeal region (50.0%) and heel (35.7%) . ST combined with IAD mostly occurred in caudal sacral (33.3%) , perianal region (33.3%) and gluteal fissure (33.3%) . PI, IAD and ST coexisted mostly in caudal sacral (50.0%) and gluteal fissure (50.0%) .

The prevalence of skin injuries in Chinese older people is high, and may increase with age, prevalence of chronic diseases and use of systemic medications, and dependent-living. In particular, PI risk may be associated with significantly higher possibility of developing skin injuries. Coexistence of multiple types and anatomical sites of skin injuries are important characteristics. The above-mentioned epidemiologic characteristics should be considered when formulating prevention strategies of skin injuries in the elderly.

人口老龄化是全球医疗保健领域面临的重大挑战，由于病理和生理性皮肤衰老使老年人成为皮肤损伤的高发人群，因此，近年来老年人皮肤损伤的流行病学研究成为研究热点。

多中心横断面调研住院老年患者压力性损伤（PI）、失禁相关性皮炎（IAD）、皮肤撕裂伤（ST）3种皮肤损伤的患病率和流行特征，为制订老年人皮肤损伤预防策略提供依据。

以16个省、2个自治区和2个直辖市52所不同等级医院作为多中心调研单位，1 067名护士经过课题组线上同质化培训并考试合格后作为资料调研员，2~3人一组采用相同工具和方法对参研医院符合纳入、排除标准的老年人进行全身皮肤检查，发现皮肤损伤者，分别按照国际指南或专家共识推荐的PI定义和分期、IAD定义和分级、ST定义和分级进行识别，同时获取人口学资料、住院时间、既往慢性病史、近1个月用药情况、生活自理情况及有无PI发生风险（采用Braden量表评估）等资料，每组双人签名确定结果，原始数据通过"问卷星"网站上传。采用SPSS 22.0软件进行统计学分析。

共调研14 675例老年患者，问卷有效率100.0%。男、女分别占56.3%（8 262/14 675）和43.7%（6 413/14 675）；平均年龄（73.5±9.0）岁；中位住院时间7（4，13）d；汉族和19个少数民族老年患者分别占95.5%（14 020/14 675）和4.5%（655/14 675）。PI、IAD、ST及其多种皮肤损伤的总患病率为6.0%（881/14 675），其中PI、IAD和ST患病率分别为3.3%（484/14 675）、1.4%（199/14 675）和0.8%（110/14 675），多种皮肤损伤（≥2种共存）患病率为0.6%（88/14 675）。流行特征：汉族老年患者皮肤损伤患病率高于少数民族（6.2% vs 2.9%，P<0.05），>80岁老年患者患病率高于71~80岁和60~70岁者（10.2% vs 6.1% vs 3.8%，P<0.016 7），患2种及以上慢性病老年患者皮肤损伤患病率高于无慢性病者和患1种慢性病者（5.7%~12.0% vs 2.9% vs 4.4%，P<0.005），使用2种及以上药物的老年患者皮肤损伤患病率高于未用药和使用1种药物者（6.1%~10.2% vs 2.7% vs 4.6%，P<0.005），住院时间>30 d老年患者皮肤损伤患病率高于住院时间8~30 d和≤7 d者（10.7% vs 4.4% vs 7.1%，P<0.016 7），有PI发生风险者皮肤损伤患病率高于无PI发生风险者（20.5% vs 1.6%，P<0.05），生活不能自理者皮肤损伤患病率高于完全自理者（7.0% vs 0.9%，P<0.05）。损伤部位：PI多发于尾骶部（57.9%）与足跟（14.3%），IAD多发于肛周（68.3%）与臀裂（24.6%），ST多发于下肢（38.2%）与上肢（28.2%），PI合并IAD多发于骶尾部（71.0%），PI合并ST多发于尾骶部（50.0%）和足跟（35.7%），ST合并IAD多发于尾骶部（33.3%）、肛周（33.3%）和臀裂（33.3%），PI、IAD和ST共存多发于尾骶部（50.0%）和臀裂（50.0%）。

我国老年患者皮肤损伤患病率处于较高水平，且随着年龄增长而升高，患有慢性病、全身用药、生活不能自理和有PI发生风险者皮肤损伤患病率明显增高，多重损伤和多部位损伤是老年人皮肤损伤的重要特征，制订老年人皮肤损伤预防策略时应关注上述特征。