Profile of Occupational Skin Diseases among Saudi Health Care Workers

Abstract

Background: Occupational skin diseases (OSD) are frequently encountered causes of morbidity and disability among health care workers (HCWs). This study was aimed to estimate the prevalence of OSD among Saudi HCWs and to characterize the possible causative factors for OSD. Methods: A total of 361 HCWs from eight governmental hospitals were included in this study. A cross sectional self-administered questionnaire survey was employed. Then, an analytical case control study design was adopted to identify the possible risk factors for OSD. Results: In this study, the estimated prevalence of OSD among Saudi HCWs was 32%. One hundred sixteen HCWs had either skin eczema (29 cases; 25%) or itchy skin wheals (Urticaria) (87 cases; 75%) caused by activities related to their jobs. In eczema cases, hands were the most affected sites (68.1% of cases). Majority of HCWs diagnosed with hand eczema were nurses (59%) compared to 15.4% of physicians and less than 10% of dentists and lab technicians. Intensive care unit, medical and surgical wards HCWs recorded the highest prevalence 25%, 24% and 19.8% respectively. Hand eczema was significantly higher among females than males HCWs. All affected cases were markedly exposed to wet environment at daily work such as using gloves, cleaning agents or frequent hand washing as well as preparing food and care of children under 4 years at home. Conclusion: HCWs are highly susceptible for OSD with a need for discovery of novel biomarkers that will be helpful for diagnosis, monitoring and prevention of OSD.