Occupational dermatitis in a highly industrialized Italian region: the experience of four occupational health departments

There is a need for several research centers to carry out coordinated large-scale evaluation of the spread of occupational irritant and allergic dermatitis. The Occupational Health Departments of Bergamo, Brescia, Lecco and Cremona therefore decided to join their experiences and bring together all t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science of the total environment 2001-04, Vol.270 (1), p.89-96
Main Authors: Crippa, M, Baruffini, A, Belleri, L, Cirla, A, Leghissa, P, Pisati, R, Pomesano, A, Valsecchi, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Allergic contact dermatitis
Allergic diseases
Biological and medical sciences
Causative agents
contact dermatitis
dermatitis
Dermatitis - epidemiology
Dermatitis - etiology
Dermatitis, Allergic Contact - epidemiology
Dermatitis, Allergic Contact - etiology
Female
Frequency
Health Care Sector
Humans
hypersensitivity
Immunopathology
Industry
Irritant contact dermatitis
irritation
Italy
Italy - epidemiology
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Occupational dermatitis
Occupational Diseases - epidemiology
Occupational Diseases - etiology
Skin allergic diseases. Stinging insect allergies
Urban Health
Urticaria
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Summary:There is a need for several research centers to carry out coordinated large-scale evaluation of the spread of occupational irritant and allergic dermatitis. The Occupational Health Departments of Bergamo, Brescia, Lecco and Cremona therefore decided to join their experiences and bring together all the cases of occupational irritant and allergic dermatitis diagnosed by these Departments between 1993 and 1998. In this period, 1169 cases of occupational dermatitis were diagnosed, subdivided into 768 cases of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), 337 of irritant contact dermatitis (ICD), 54 of urticaria and 10 of airborne contact dermatitis, and there has not been a trend towards increase of occupational dermatitis over the years. Our population included 724 males and 445 females and average latency after the beginning of exposure to occupational allergens was 8.01 years for ACD, 6.4 for ICD, 3.22 for urticaria and 5.57 for airborne contact dermatitis. The frequency of atopy was 33.9% in females and 19.5% in males. The frequency of atopy was particularly high (89%) in subjects with urticaria. Among subjects with allergic dermatitis, 362 had had only one sensitization while 406 had had two or more sensitizations. The working areas where we found the highest number of ACD were metal working industry, building, health care workers and hairdressers and the frequency of ICD was high in metal workers and health care workers. Most of the cases of urticaria were diagnosed in health care workers (68.5%) and the main causing agent was latex. These are only preliminary data but occupations at risk and the substances expected to be the most frequent etiological agents do not differ significantly from those reported in the literature. It is hoped that as a result of this project there will be in the future: standardization of diagnostic procedures, uniform assessment of allergological risk in working environments not yet fully investigated, standardization of preventative measures and proper evaluation of their effectiveness.
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/S0048-9697(00)00783-X