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Hand dermatitis among medical students from north Queensland, Australia
Author(s) -
Leggat Peter Adrian,
Smith Derek Richard
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
contact dermatitis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1600-0536
pISSN - 0105-1873
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0536.2007.01006.x
Subject(s) - dermatology , contact dermatitis , allergic contact dermatitis , medicine , family medicine , allergy , immunology
Although hand dermatitis (HD) is a frequent occurrence for many health professionals, little is known about the prevalence of HD among medical students, particularly in Australia. A questionnaire‐based survey of HD was administered to 261 students at a medical school in tropical northern Australia during 2004 (98.9% response rate). The prevalence of HD varied by year of study, ranging from 9.7% to 20.4% ( P =0.322), with an overall prevalence of 17.4%. HD prevalence was significantly higher in those with current allergic disease ( P =0.012). Some students (13.8%) reported a reaction immediately after exposure to latex products, a finding which was associated with higher prevalence of HD ( P =0.001). HD may be more prevalent among students of a tropical Australian medical school than among their counterparts studied elsewhere. The identification of allergy as a significant correlate again stresses the importance of allergic disease and its relationship with skin conditions.