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Prevalence of eczema and other dermatoses of the hands and forearms in construction workers in the Netherlands
Author(s) -
COENRAADS P.J.,
NATER J.P.,
JANSEN H.A.,
LANTINGA H.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
clinical and experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1365-2230
pISSN - 0307-6938
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2230.1984.tb00776.x
Subject(s) - medicine , university hospital , family medicine , section (typography) , dermatology , library science , advertising , computer science , business
Summary An examination of the hands and forearms of about 1700 construction workers revealed that 133 of them (7.8%) had a form of eczema, whereas psoriasis was observed in twenty‐two (1.3%). Irritant dermatitis was the major diagnostic category and was found in sixty‐seven workers (4%); allergic contact eczema was found in 1.4%. The prevalence of eczema/dermatitis in different job categories varied between 5.9% in technicians and 12.6% in bricklayers and plasterers. A history of atopy was more prevalent in persons with irritant dermatitis (24%) than in those with other forms of eczema (15%) and the controls f 11%). Patch testing was performed with dichromate, cobalt, thiruammix and cpoxy resin in persons with eczema and in a control group of 307 workers without eczema. Positive patch tests were found in 15% of the workers with eczema and 5.5% of those in the control group. In carpenters, there was very little difference between the proportion of positive patch tests in workers with eczema (6.1%) and that in controls (4.3%), In bricklayers and plasterers, these percentages were 27.7% and 7.6%, respectively. In carpenters, an association between eczema and a history of frequent exposure to wood impregnants and solvents was found.