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      OCCUPATIONAL SKIN PROBLEMS IN CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

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          Abstract

          Background

          Construction workers handle cement which has constituents to produce both irritant contact dermatitis and corrosive effects (from alkaline ingredients, such as lime) and sensitization, leading to allergic contact dermatitis (from ingredients, such as chromium).

          Aim:

          The present study has been carried out among unorganized construction workers to find the prevalence of skin problems.

          Materials and Methods:

          The present cross-sectional study was conducted in 92 construction workers of Ahmedabad and Vadodara.

          Results and Discussion:

          All the workers were subjected to clinical examination after collection of information regarding demographic characteristics, occupational characteristics and clinical history on a predesigned proforma. Of them, 47.8% had morbid skin conditions. Frictional callosities in palm were observed in 18 (19.6%) subjects while 4 (4.3%) subjects had contact dermatitis. Other conditions included dry, fissured and scaly skin, infectious skin lesion, tinea cruris, lesion and ulcers on hands and/or soles.

          Conclusion

          The skin conditions were common in the age group of 20–25 years, males, those having ≥1 year exposure and those working for longer hours. Half of the workers not using personal protective equipment had reported skin-related symptoms.

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          Text book of preventive and social medicine

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            Occupational skin disease in the construction industry.

            Construction workers have a substantial risk of developing irritant and/or allergic contact dermatitis. Unfortunately, however, there is little population-based epidemiological data relating to occupational skin diseases (OSD) in the European construction industry that allow assessment of preventive measures. In this investigation, the yearly incidence rates and causes of OSD in the construction industry were analysed on the basis of our register in Northern Bavaria. From 1990 until 1999, all incidences of OSD in the construction industry were recorded prospectively. This enables the calculation of incidence rates of OSD in relation to the employed population in Northern Bavaria as recorded by the German Federal Employment Office. In the construction industry, a total of 335 OSD were registered. These comprise 9.0% of all OSD in the register. We classified them into four relevant groups: (A) tile setters and terrazzo workers (incidence per 10 000 employees = 19.9); (B) painters (7.8); (C) construction and cement workers (5.2); and (D) wood processors (2.6). The overall incidence was 5.1 per 10 000 employees over 10 years, which is a little below average for the entire register (6.7). Of these, 43.6% were at least 40 years old. Allergic contact dermatitis (61.5%) occurred more often than irritant contact dermatitis (44.5%). Potassium dichromate caused roughly half of all cases of sensitization found to be occupationally relevant in the construction industry (152 cases) followed by epoxy resin (40) and cobalt chloride (32). The results indicate that potassium dichromate is still the most important allergen in the construction industry of Northern Bavaria; there has been no significant decline during the 1990s. This contrasts with the Scandinavian countries, where the prevalence of potassium dichromate sensitization declined following the reduction of chromium VI levels resulting from the addition of ferrous sulphate to cement. Within the construction industry, tile setters and terrazzo workers have a strikingly high incidence of OSD.
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              Contact allergy in construction workers: results of a multifactorial analysis.

              To quantify the risk of contact allergy (CA) to important ubiquitous allergens associated with certain occupations, in particular the construction industry, and to identify possible time trends, controlling for potential confounding variables. Bivariate as well as Poisson regression analysis of standardized anamnestic and patch test data comprising 82,561 patients assessed in the 33 German and Austrian contact dermatitis units of the Information Network of Departments of Dermatology (IVDK) between 1992 and 2000. CA to five of the 18 (groups of) allergens considered here were observed significantly more often in construction workers: dichromate, epoxy resin (BADGE), cobalt, thiurams and N-isopropyl-p-phenylenediamine (IPPD). Multifactorial analysis confirmed an increased risk of CA to these allergens in construction workers, compared with other occupations. A very strong association between cobalt and chromate allergy was found in construction workers (OR 39.1, 95% CI 21.1-79.6). Dichromate is still an prominent allergen in construction workers; as yet, there is only weak evidence of a decrease in Germany. Therefore, the addition of ferrous sulphate to cement, which has been a successful intervention in other countries, should be promoted further. Although CA to other important occupational allergens like thiurams, IPPD and epoxy resin or cobalt (very often associated with dichromate CA) is less frequent, prevention should address these allergens, too. The use of protective gloves with minimal intrinsic CA risk, e.g. due to thiurams in (synthetic) rubber or chromate in leather gloves, should be promoted.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Indian J Dermatol
                IJD
                Indian Journal of Dermatology
                Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd (India )
                0019-5154
                1998-3611
                Oct-Dec 2010
                : 55
                : 4
                : 348-351
                Affiliations
                [1] From the Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute, Ahmedabad, India
                [1 ] Occupational Medicine Division, National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad, India
                Author notes
                Address for correspondence:Dr. R. R Tiwari, Occupational Medicine Division, National Institute of Occupational Health, Meghani Nagar, Ahmedabad - 380 016, Gujarat, India rajtiwari2810@ 123456yahoo.co.in
                Article
                IJD-55-348
                10.4103/0019-5154.74537
                3051294
                21430887
                a8013196-6007-427d-9653-02e886de1fae
                Copyright: © Indian Journal of Dermatology

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : November 2009
                : July 2010
                Categories
                Original Article

                Dermatology
                cement,construction,contact dermatitis
                Dermatology
                cement, construction, contact dermatitis

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