Cultural practices in immigrant populations and their relevance to dermatology.

The inequalities between different countries today are considerable; many countries in the world are involved in armed conflict and in many others a large part of the population lives below the poverty line. As a result, migration is increasing, as many people emigrate in search of a better quality of life. In Spain, we have witnessed exponential growth in immigration for more than a decade, although this trend appears to have slowed since 2011 as a result of the current economic crisis. Nevertheless, at the end of 2011, foreign residents in Spain (5 700 000) accounted for 12.2% of the country’s population; 3 300 000 of these were economic migrants. This is a heterogeneous group made up of people from Latin America, eastern Europe, and Asia. Depending on their country of origin, these populations present distinctive characteristics that reflect their differing cultures and traditions, and these may sometimes affect the way they view health and disease and influence their attitudes when they are ill. Certain population groups also have specific cultural practices that can favor the appearance of certain skin diseases.