Occupational hand dermatitis among cement workers in Taiwan
Occupational dermatitis among cement workers is a major occupational health concern. The two most important occupational hazards for cement workers are irritant and allergic cement contact dermatitis. The objective of this study was to investigate the severity of occupational cement contact dermatit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2011-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of the Formosan Medical Association |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929664611001331 |
| _version_ | 1811299870718296064 |
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| author | Bour-Jr Wang Jyun-De Wu Shiann-Cherng Sheu Tung-Sheng Shih Ho-Yuan Chang Yue-Liang Guo Ying-Jan Wang Tzu-Chieh Chou |
| author_facet | Bour-Jr Wang Jyun-De Wu Shiann-Cherng Sheu Tung-Sheng Shih Ho-Yuan Chang Yue-Liang Guo Ying-Jan Wang Tzu-Chieh Chou |
| author_sort | Bour-Jr Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Occupational dermatitis among cement workers is a major occupational health concern. The two most important occupational hazards for cement workers are irritant and allergic cement contact dermatitis. The objective of this study was to investigate the severity of occupational cement contact dermatitis and the common allergens among cement workers in Taiwan.
Methods: A total of 97 cement workers from the Cement Workers’ Association of Tainan City and County participated in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to evaluate the demographic data and work-related activities of these cement workers. A complete skin examination was conducted, and skin manifestations were assessed by a dermatologist. Allergens from European Standard Tray (Chemotechnique Diagnostic AB, Sweden) with a total of 25 substances were used for patch testing.
Results: Our results showed that 65 out of 97 cement workers were suffering from occupational cement hand contact dermatitis. The most affected skin area was the hand. Thickening of the dorsal surface of the hand, especially around the metacarpophalangeal joint area, and hyperkeratosis of the palm were the major skin manifestations. The results of the patch test showed that 24 out of 97 were allergic to potassium dichromate, nine were allergic to thiuram mix, nine were allergic to fragrance mix and seven were allergic to cobalt chloride. The final diagnosis, based on the results of the skin examination and the patch test, showed that 43 of 97 cement workers had irritant cement contact dermatitis and 22 had allergic cement contact dermatitis.
Conclusion: We conclude that occupational cement hand dermatitis among cement workers is an important and severe issue in Taiwan, and the most common allergens among cement workers are potassium dichromate, thiuram mix, fragrance mix and cobalt chloride. The high positive rate of chromium hypersensitivity among cement workers reflects the urgency to regulate the addition of ferrous sulfate to cement in Taiwan. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:43:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-81732dba746b4519bbbcb457bba030d8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0929-6646 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:43:01Z |
| publishDate | 2011-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of the Formosan Medical Association |
| spelling | doaj.art-81732dba746b4519bbbcb457bba030d82022-12-22T02:57:41ZengElsevierJournal of the Formosan Medical Association0929-66462011-12-011101277577910.1016/j.jfma.2011.11.008Occupational hand dermatitis among cement workers in TaiwanBour-Jr Wang0Jyun-De Wu1Shiann-Cherng Sheu2Tung-Sheng Shih3Ho-Yuan Chang4Yue-Liang Guo5Ying-Jan Wang6Tzu-Chieh Chou7Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan, TaiwanDepartment of Occupational Safety and Health, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan, TaiwanDepartment of Occupational Safety and Health, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan, TaiwanInstitute of Occupational Safety and Health, Council of Labor Affairs, Executive Yuan, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan, TaiwanDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University (NTU) Medical College and NTU Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan, TaiwanDepartment of Public Health, School of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, TaiwanOccupational dermatitis among cement workers is a major occupational health concern. The two most important occupational hazards for cement workers are irritant and allergic cement contact dermatitis. The objective of this study was to investigate the severity of occupational cement contact dermatitis and the common allergens among cement workers in Taiwan. Methods: A total of 97 cement workers from the Cement Workers’ Association of Tainan City and County participated in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to evaluate the demographic data and work-related activities of these cement workers. A complete skin examination was conducted, and skin manifestations were assessed by a dermatologist. Allergens from European Standard Tray (Chemotechnique Diagnostic AB, Sweden) with a total of 25 substances were used for patch testing. Results: Our results showed that 65 out of 97 cement workers were suffering from occupational cement hand contact dermatitis. The most affected skin area was the hand. Thickening of the dorsal surface of the hand, especially around the metacarpophalangeal joint area, and hyperkeratosis of the palm were the major skin manifestations. The results of the patch test showed that 24 out of 97 were allergic to potassium dichromate, nine were allergic to thiuram mix, nine were allergic to fragrance mix and seven were allergic to cobalt chloride. The final diagnosis, based on the results of the skin examination and the patch test, showed that 43 of 97 cement workers had irritant cement contact dermatitis and 22 had allergic cement contact dermatitis. Conclusion: We conclude that occupational cement hand dermatitis among cement workers is an important and severe issue in Taiwan, and the most common allergens among cement workers are potassium dichromate, thiuram mix, fragrance mix and cobalt chloride. The high positive rate of chromium hypersensitivity among cement workers reflects the urgency to regulate the addition of ferrous sulfate to cement in Taiwan.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929664611001331allergic contact dermatitiscement workerschromium hypersensitivityirritant contact dermatitis |
| spellingShingle | Bour-Jr Wang Jyun-De Wu Shiann-Cherng Sheu Tung-Sheng Shih Ho-Yuan Chang Yue-Liang Guo Ying-Jan Wang Tzu-Chieh Chou Occupational hand dermatitis among cement workers in Taiwan Journal of the Formosan Medical Association allergic contact dermatitis cement workers chromium hypersensitivity irritant contact dermatitis |
| title | Occupational hand dermatitis among cement workers in Taiwan |
| title_full | Occupational hand dermatitis among cement workers in Taiwan |
| title_fullStr | Occupational hand dermatitis among cement workers in Taiwan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Occupational hand dermatitis among cement workers in Taiwan |
| title_short | Occupational hand dermatitis among cement workers in Taiwan |
| title_sort | occupational hand dermatitis among cement workers in taiwan |
| topic | allergic contact dermatitis cement workers chromium hypersensitivity irritant contact dermatitis |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929664611001331 |
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