Background: So far, studies on the inter-relationship between Malassezia and Malassezia folliculitis have been rather scarce.
Objective: We sought to analyze the differences in body sites, gender and age groups, and to determine whether there is a relationship between certain types of Malassezia species and Malassezia folliculitis.
Methods: Specimens were taken from the forehead, cheek and chest of 60 patients with Malassezia folliculitis and from the normal skin of 60 age- and gender-matched healthy controls by 26S rDNA PCR-RFLP.
Results: M. restricta was dominant in the patients with Malassezia folliculitis (20.6%), while M. globosa was the most common species (26.7%) in the controls. The rate of identification was the highest in the teens for the patient group, whereas it was the highest in the thirties for the control group. M. globosa was the most predominant species on the chest with 13 cases (21.7%), and M. restricta was the most commonly identified species, with 17 (28.3%) and 12 (20%) cases on the forehead and cheek, respectively, for the patient group.
Conclusion: Statistically significant differences were observed between the patient and control groups for the people in their teens and twenties, and in terms of the body site, on the forehead only.
Keywords: 26S rDNA PCR-RFLP; Malassezia folliculitis; Malassezia yeasts.