Occupational dermatitis causing days away from work in U.S. private industry, 1993

Abstract

Background Occupational skin disease is an important cause of disability in the workplace. The aim of this report is to estimate the incidence of occupational dermatitis cases that causes days away from work and to characterize the cases. Methods The Annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses from the Bureau of Labor Statistics collects employer reports on work‐related dermatitis. Descriptive data are collected on a sample of the cases that result in days away from work. Estimates of the number of cases and days away from work were calculated by industry, occupation, and exposure source. Results In 1993, there were an estimated 8,835 cases of occupational dermatitis, a rate of 1.12/10,000 workers. The largest number of cases was in health services, while the highest rate was in agricultural crops. The occupation with the largest number of cases was non‐construction laborers. Cleaning/polishing agents caused the largest number of cases. Calcium hydroxide and oxides caused a median of nine days away from work. Discussion/Conclusions The survey data show that the effect of occupational dermatitis is substantial in the lives of workers. These descriptive data should be used to target interventions. Am. J. Ind. Med. 34:568–573, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

The importance of occupational skin diseases in the United States

“…The BLS conducts annual surveys of employers selected to represent all private industries in the US. The survey excludes approximately 23% of employed persons, including the self-employed, farms with fewer than 11 employees, private households, and government agencies [4]. It depends on compliance and reporting by the employer and employee, and the recognition and diagnosis of an occupational injury or illness.…”

“…A more thorough review, which looked specifically at cases with days away from work, used 1993 BLS data [4]. This review showed that of 60,200 cases of OSDs (76 per 100,000 workers), 12,613 (21%;16 per 100,000 workers) resulted in days away from work.…”

“…The overall rate for days-away-from-work dermatitis cases was 11.2 per 100,000 workers. The highest rates for dermatitis resulting in days away from work were seen in the leather and leather-products industry (77 per 100,000 workers), agricultural crop production (57), amusement and recreation services (43), hotels and other lodging places (26), rubber and miscellaneous plastics products (25), and food and kindred products (23) [4]. The median days away from work due to occupational dermatitis was 3, but 17.4% of lost workday cases had over 11 days away from work.…”

“…OSDs are diseases seen and treated (though not always specifically diagnosed) by medical professionals in multiple specialties, making review of physician-based data sources inefficient. 4. OSDs are diseases that often go untreated and undiagnosed; thus, many cases may never be documented in any data source.…”

The identification of a sensitizing component used in the manufacturing of an ink ribbon

“…Chemical exposure can lead to contact dermatitis, the most common occupational skin disorder; responsible for up to 30% of all cases of occupational disease in industrialized nations. Epidemiologic data suggest that contact dermatitis accounts for ≈95% of all cases of occupational skin disease, imposing considerable social and economic implications (Burnett et al, 1998;Clark and Zirwas, 2009). Time off work, loss of workplace productivity, reduced quality-of-life, and medical and worker compensation costs are several factors accounting for the loss of billions of dollars.…”