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Occupational skin disease in V ictoria, A ustralia
Author(s) -
Cahill Jennifer L,
Williams Jason D,
Matheson Melanie C,
Palmer Amanda M,
Burgess John A,
Dharmage Shyamali C,
Nixon Rosemary L
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
australasian journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.67
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1440-0960
pISSN - 0004-8380
DOI - 10.1111/ajd.12375
Subject(s) - medicine , referral , incidence (geometry) , allergic contact dermatitis , irritant contact dermatitis , atopic dermatitis , occupational disease , contact dermatitis , hand eczema , dermatology , disease , occupational medicine , allergy , epidemiology , family medicine , environmental health , immunology , physics , optics
Objectives To describe the characteristics of patients with occupational skin disease ( OSD ) in a tertiary referral clinic in V ictoria, A ustralia. Methods A retrospective review was conducted of records from patients seen at the Occupational Dermatology Clinic in M elbourne, A ustralia between 1 J anuary 1993 and 31 D ecember 2010. Results Of the 2894 people assessed in the clinic during the 18‐year period, 44% were women and 56% were men. In all, 2177 (75%) were diagnosed with occupational skin disease ( OSD ). Of the patients with a work‐related skin condition, 45% ( n = 979) were considered to be atopic. The most common diagnosis in those with OSD was irritant contact dermatitis ( ICD ) (44%), followed by allergic contact dermatitis (33%) and endogenous eczema (11%). Women were significantly more likely to have soaps and detergents ( P < 0.001) and water/wet work ( P < 0.001) as causes of their ICD than men. Men were significantly more likely to have oils and coolants ( P < 0.001) and solvent exposures ( P < 0.001) as causes of their ICD . Occupational groups with the highest incidence of OSD were the hair and beauty professions (70 per 100 000), followed by machine and plant operators (38 per 100 000) and health‐care workers (21 per 100 000). Conclusion We confirm the importance of occupational contact dermatitis as the most common cause of OSD , with ICD being the most common diagnosis. There are differences in the causes of ICD between our group of male and female workers. For the first time in A ustralia, rates of OSD in certain industries have been calculated.