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Incidence of hand eczema in female Swedish hairdressers

Lind, Marie-Louise ; Albin, Maria LU ; Brisman, Jonas ; Diab, Kerstin LU ; Lillienberg, Linnea ; Mikoczy, Zoli LU ; Nielsen, Jörn LU ; Rylander, Lars LU orcid ; Toren, Kjell and Meding, Birgitta (2007) In Occupational and Environmental Medicine 64(3). p.191-195
Abstract
Objective: To estimate the occurrence of hand eczema in hairdressers in Sweden. Methods: The occurrence of hand eczema was estimated in a Swedish longitudinal retrospective cohort study including all female graduates from vocational schools for hairdressers from 1970 to 1995. A stratified sample from the general population acted as controls. A self-administered questionnaire including questions on the occurrence of hand eczema, skin atopy, working periods and number of hair treatments performed per week was sent to the participants. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of hand eczema were estimated. Results: The incidence rate of hand eczema in hairdressers was 23.8 cases/1000 person-years, whereas in hairdressers who were aged,25 years it was... (More)
Objective: To estimate the occurrence of hand eczema in hairdressers in Sweden. Methods: The occurrence of hand eczema was estimated in a Swedish longitudinal retrospective cohort study including all female graduates from vocational schools for hairdressers from 1970 to 1995. A stratified sample from the general population acted as controls. A self-administered questionnaire including questions on the occurrence of hand eczema, skin atopy, working periods and number of hair treatments performed per week was sent to the participants. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of hand eczema were estimated. Results: The incidence rate of hand eczema in hairdressers was 23.8 cases/1000 person-years, whereas in hairdressers who were aged,25 years it was 37.1/1000 person-years. The corresponding IRR for hairdressers compared with controls was 2.5 (95% confidence interval (Cl) 2.2 to 2.8), and that for younger hairdressers was 3.1 (95% Cl 2.6 to 3.5). The mean age at onset of hand eczema was 21.6 years for hairdressers and 21.2 years for controls. The 1-year prevalence of hand eczema was 18.0% for hairdressers and 12.1% for controls. A large number of hair treatments involving exposure to skin irritants and sensitisers were reported. The incidence rate of hand eczema was higher among individuals with a history of childhood eczema, both for hairdressers and for controls, giving an (age-adjusted) IRR of 1.9 and 2.2, respectively. The attributable fraction of hand eczema from skin atopy was 9.6%. A synergistic effect of skin atopy and hairdressing was found on the occurrence of hand eczema. The relative excess risk due to interaction was 1.21 (95% Cl 0.21 to 2.21; p = 0.01). Conclusion: Hairdressers are highly exposed to skin-damaging substances. The self-reported incidence of hand eczema was substantially higher in female hairdressers than in controls from the general population and than that found previously in register-based studies. For many individuals, onset of hand eczema occurs early in life. Only about 10% of the hand eczema cases among hairdressers would be prevented if no one with skin atopy entered the trade. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
volume
64
issue
3
pages
191 - 195
publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • wos:000244714900010
  • scopus:33947502007
ISSN
1470-7926
DOI
10.1136/oem.2005.026211
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3606919f-748b-41fb-b511-251c28ad9330 (old id 671577)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:59:01
date last changed
2022-04-23 01:48:47
@article{3606919f-748b-41fb-b511-251c28ad9330,
  abstract     = {{Objective: To estimate the occurrence of hand eczema in hairdressers in Sweden. Methods: The occurrence of hand eczema was estimated in a Swedish longitudinal retrospective cohort study including all female graduates from vocational schools for hairdressers from 1970 to 1995. A stratified sample from the general population acted as controls. A self-administered questionnaire including questions on the occurrence of hand eczema, skin atopy, working periods and number of hair treatments performed per week was sent to the participants. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of hand eczema were estimated. Results: The incidence rate of hand eczema in hairdressers was 23.8 cases/1000 person-years, whereas in hairdressers who were aged,25 years it was 37.1/1000 person-years. The corresponding IRR for hairdressers compared with controls was 2.5 (95% confidence interval (Cl) 2.2 to 2.8), and that for younger hairdressers was 3.1 (95% Cl 2.6 to 3.5). The mean age at onset of hand eczema was 21.6 years for hairdressers and 21.2 years for controls. The 1-year prevalence of hand eczema was 18.0% for hairdressers and 12.1% for controls. A large number of hair treatments involving exposure to skin irritants and sensitisers were reported. The incidence rate of hand eczema was higher among individuals with a history of childhood eczema, both for hairdressers and for controls, giving an (age-adjusted) IRR of 1.9 and 2.2, respectively. The attributable fraction of hand eczema from skin atopy was 9.6%. A synergistic effect of skin atopy and hairdressing was found on the occurrence of hand eczema. The relative excess risk due to interaction was 1.21 (95% Cl 0.21 to 2.21; p = 0.01). Conclusion: Hairdressers are highly exposed to skin-damaging substances. The self-reported incidence of hand eczema was substantially higher in female hairdressers than in controls from the general population and than that found previously in register-based studies. For many individuals, onset of hand eczema occurs early in life. Only about 10% of the hand eczema cases among hairdressers would be prevented if no one with skin atopy entered the trade.}},
  author       = {{Lind, Marie-Louise and Albin, Maria and Brisman, Jonas and Diab, Kerstin and Lillienberg, Linnea and Mikoczy, Zoli and Nielsen, Jörn and Rylander, Lars and Toren, Kjell and Meding, Birgitta}},
  issn         = {{1470-7926}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{191--195}},
  publisher    = {{BMJ Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Occupational and Environmental Medicine}},
  title        = {{Incidence of hand eczema in female Swedish hairdressers}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oem.2005.026211}},
  doi          = {{10.1136/oem.2005.026211}},
  volume       = {{64}},
  year         = {{2007}},
}