Tertiary prevention of occupational skin diseases: Prevalence of allergic contact dermatitis and pattern of patch test results.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is one of the most common occupational skin diseases (OSDs). Its prevalence and the causative allergens differ between occupations.

OBJECTIVES:

To evaluate the prevalence of ACD and the pattern of patch test results of patients taking part in a tertiary individual prevention programme (TIP) for OSD in Germany.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

In a retrospective cohort study, the data of 3411 TIP patients patch tested between 2007 and 2016 were analysed.

RESULTS:

In 2687 (78.8%) patients, work-related skin disease was diagnosed, mostly hand dermatitis. The highest proportion of face dermatitis was seen in painters (8.1%). ACD was most common in painters (56.8%), hairdressers (45.8%), construction workers (31.5%), gardeners/florists (26.7%), and metalworkers (26.5%). On average, hairdressers had the youngest age (31.4 ± 12.6 years, P < 0.0001) and the shortest time in the profession prior to the TIP (mean 13.7 years). The pattern of patch test reactivity showed occupation-specific differences related to work exposures.

CONCLUSIONS:

Identification of occupational groups at risk for ACD and relevant allergens may help in the development and implementation of targeted prevention strategies. Our data suggest that there should be a particular focus on hairdressers and painters.

• Authors: Richard Brans, Claudia Schröder-Kraft, Christoph Skudlik, Swen M John, Johannes Geier
• Journal: Contact dermatitis (Contact Dermatitis) Vol. 80 Issue 1 Pg. 35-44 (Jan 2019) ISSN: 1600-0536 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 30506828 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Topics

• Adult
• Beauty Culture
• Cohort Studies
• Construction Industry
• Dermatitis, Allergic Contact (epidemiology)
• Dermatitis, Occupational (epidemiology)
• Facial Dermatoses (epidemiology)
• Female
• Gardening
• Germany (epidemiology)
• Hand Dermatoses (epidemiology)
• Humans
• Male
• Metallurgy
• Middle Aged
• Paintings
• Patch Tests
• Prevalence
• Retrospective Studies
• Tertiary Prevention
• Young Adult