Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.2478/aiht-2024-75-3885
Difference between hand and forearm transepidermal water loss and skin pH as an improved method to biomonitor occupational hand eczema: our findings in healthcare workers
Željka Babić
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Franka Šakić
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Iva Japudžić Rapić
; Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital Centre, Department of Dermatovenereology, Zagreb, Croatia
Liborija Lugović-Mihić
; Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital Centre, Department of Dermatovenereology, Zagreb, Croatia 3 University of Zagreb School of Dental Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
Jelena Macan
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The aim of this cross-sectional field study was to establish the condition of hand and forearm skin barrier among dentists and physicians and how it may be associated with personal and work-related factors. The study consisted of an occupational questionnaire, clinical examination of skin on hands, and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and pH measurements on hands and forearms. The participants were divided in the following groups (N=37 each, N=148 in total): physicians, medical surgeons, dentists, and dental surgeons. We calculated the difference between hand and forearm TEWL and pH (ΔTEWL and ΔpH, respectively) and divided it by the forearm values (ΔTEWL% and ΔpH%, respectively). There was a clear trend of increasing median ΔTEWL%, starting from physicians with non-surgical specialization (56 %) to medical surgeons (65 %), dentists (104 %), and dental surgeons (108 %), with the latter two groups showing particularly worrisome signs of work-related skin barrier impairment, since they had double the TEWL on hands than on forearms. Although less prominent, the same worsening trend was noted for skin pH, with dental surgeons having on average a 0.3 points higher skin pH on hands than on forearms. These findings were mainly associated with prolonged glove use and male sex. Our findings also suggest that comparing TEWL and pH between hands and forearms can better establish occupational skin barrier impairment on hands.
Keywords
contact dermatitis; dentists; physicians; skin barrier; surgeons
Hrčak ID:
320937
URI
Publication date:
25.9.2024.
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