Occupational Contact Dermatitis in Construction Workers: A Retrospective Analysis of the North American Contact Dermatitis Group Data, 2001-2020

Margo J. Reeder, From the *Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Alexander Idrogo-Lam, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Srikanth R. Aravamuthan, From the *Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Erin M. Warshaw, Department of Dermatology, Park Nicollet Health Services, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Joel G. DeKoven, Division of Dermatology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Jonathan I. Silverberg, Department of Dermatology, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Brandon L. Adler, Department of Dermatology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Amber R. Atwater, Department of Dermatology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
James S. Taylor, Department of Dermatology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Marie-Claude Houle, Division of Dermatology, CHU de Quebec, Laval University, Quebec City, Canada.
Donald V. Belsito, Department of Dermatology, Columbia University Irving Medical School, New York, New York, USA.
Jiade Yu, Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Nina Botto, Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Christen M. Mowad, Department of Dermatology, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, Pennsylvania, USA.
Cory A. Dunnick, Department of Dermatology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Vincent A. DeLeo, Department of Dermatology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Melanie D. Pratt, Division of Dermatology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

6-18-2024

Journal

Dermatitis : contact, atopic, occupational, drug

DOI

10.1089/derm.2024.0018

Abstract

Construction workers (CWs) are at risk for occupational contact dermatitis (CD) owing to workplace exposures. Determine the prevalence of occupational allergic CD and characterize common occupational allergens in CWs referred for patch testing in the United States and Canada. Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of patients patch tested by the North American Contact Dermatitis Group from 2001 to 2020. Of 47,843 patch-tested patients, 681 (1.4%) were CWs. Compared with non-CWs, CWs were more likely to be male (91.0% vs 30.9%) have occupational skin disease (36.9% vs 11.4%) and have hand involvement (37.2% vs 22.5%) (all < 0.0001). Of 681 CWs, 60.1% (411) had clinically relevant positive patch test reactions, and nearly 1/3 of CWs (128) had occupationally relevant reactions. Most common occupationally relevant allergens were potassium dichromate 0.25% pet. (30.5%, 39/128), bisphenol A epoxy resin 1% pet. (28.1%, 36/128), carba mix 3% pet. (14.8%, 19/128), cobalt (ii) chloride hexahydrate 1% pet. (14.1%, 18/128), and thiuram mix 1% pet. (14.1%, 18/128). Top sources of occupationally relevant allergens were cement/concrete/mortar (20.4%, 46/225), gloves (15.1%, 34/225), and coatings (paint/lacquer/shellac/varnish/stains) (9.8%, 22/225). Occupational CD in North American CWs is common. In this group, frequently identified etiological sources of occupational allergic CD included metals, epoxy resin, and rubber.

Department

Dermatology

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS