A Survey of the Awareness, Prevalence, and Characteristics of Striae Gravidarum in Dermatologic Outpatients of a University Hospital

Choi, Hoon; Kim, Yoon Soo; Kim, Min Sung; Na, Chan Ho; Shin, Bong Seok

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Striae gravidarum (SG) is a common skin change that occurs in pregnancy. Various risk factors associated with SG have been reported, but the results are controversial.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to determine the incidence, clinically associated factors, and awareness of SG in postpartum women at the dermatology clinic of a university hospital.
METHODS
A questionnaire-based survey was conducted on women with fertility histories who had visited the dermatologic clinic of our hospital from October 2015 to December 2016. The survey items included the time of SG appearance, maternal age, and factors related to the development of SG (e.g., maternal weight gain, fetal weight and sex, and family history). We also investigated the awareness of SG development and treatment, and excluded subjects with various diseases that could affect SG.
RESULTS
The subjects were 38 primiparas and 62 multiparas, and SG was observed in 91 subjects (91%). In 55.9% of the primiparous women, the SG became evident in the second trimester, although 63.1% of the multiparous women experienced the development of SG in the third trimester. There was a statistically significant difference in the time of SG appearance between primiparas and multiparas. In addition, fetal weight, maternal weight gain, and family history of SG were statistically associated with the occurrence of SG. However, fetal sex was not related to SG. The pregnant women considered the weight gain during pregnancy to be the most common cause of SG, while family history, fetal overweight, and the use of cream for skin regeneration were thought to be other causes of SG. 53.8% of the subjects with SG experienced various treatment methods, which did not show any significant difference in terms of effectiveness when compared with non-treated subjects.
CONCLUSION
In our study, maternal weight gain, family history, and fetal weight were statistically significantly associated with the development of SG. We believe that this study may be useful to enhance our understanding of the awareness, prevalence, and related factors of SG in dermatologic outpatients at a university hospital. Multi-center studies with large numbers of patients are warranted to further investigate the clinical features of SG.