Prevalence and incidence of skin tear in older adults：A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Skin tear (ST) is a public health problem in older adults; they substantially increase the risk of complications and cause serious adverse consequences and health care burden.

Aim: To estimate the pooled prevalence and incidence of ST among older adults.

Methods: Ten databases were systematically searched from their inception to July 27, 2023. Two researchers performed a systematic review independently according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. All inconsistencies were resolved by a principal researcher. The pooled prevalence and incidence of ST were estimated in R 4.3.1 program.

Results: Thirteen studies were included in this review. The pooled prevalence of ST was 6.0 % (95 % confidence interval (CI): 3.0%-11.0 %, I = 98 %), and the pooled incidence was 11.0 % (95 % CI: 5.0%-19.0 %, I = 94 %). The prevalence of ST was 11.0 % (95 % CI: 5.0%-19.0 %, I = 95 %) in long-term care facilities, 5.0 % (95 % CI: 3.0%-9.0 %, I = 86 %) in Europe, and 7.0 % (95 % CI: 1.0%-16.0 %, I = 82 %) in the Skin Tear Audit Research classification system (STAR). It has stabilized at 6.0 % since 2021. The incidence of ST was 15.0 % (95 % CI: 11.0%-20.0 %, I = 66 %) in long-term care facilities in Japan and 4.0 % (95 % CI: 2.0%-6.0 %) in Canada.

Conclusions: Older adults are at a high risk for ST. Our findings emphasize the importance of epidemiologic studies and further exploring assessment tools for ST. Healthcare professionals should pay attention to ST, identify high-risk individuals and associated factors, and implement targeted prevention strategies for older adults.