Epidemiology

In the US, superficial folliculitis is quite common, although the exact incidence is unknown. Medical attention is often sought for recurrent or deep forms of folliculitis.

Superficial folliculitis occurs in both sexes and all races.

It tends to affect adults more frequently than children. This is likely due to adults having more terminal hair growth.

Certain subtypes of folliculitis tend to affect particular populations more often than others. Herpes folliculitis occurs predominantly in the beard region in men, whereas Malassezia folliculitis has a slight female predominance.[8] Hot-tub folliculitis occurs more commonly in people who use spa facilities. Pseudofolliculitis barbae commonly affects men of African descent.[9] The prevalence in this population is reported to be between 45% and 83%.[10] Eosinophilic pustular folliculitis tends to affect adults with an average age of 30, with a male to female ratio of 5:1.[11] HIV-associated eosinophilic folliculitis is seen in patients with HIV, usually with a low CD4+ count <300 cells/mm³.[2] A limited number of cases of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis have been observed in infants less than 1 year of age, with a male predominance.[12][13]

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