Objective To estimate the prevalence of hand eczema among workers of ferrous metal smelting and calendering processing industry, and to explore related risk factors.
Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among workers with hand eczema randomly selected from 11 ferrous metal smelting and calendering processing enterprises in a province of China. The χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyze risk factors of hand eczema.
Results Of the workers investigated, the prevalence rate of hand eczema was 12.8%, and higher prevalences of hand eczema were found in workers engaged in heat treatment, moulding and smelting procedures, being 26.8%, 25.4% and 25.0%, respectively. Their selfreported risk factors of hand eczema were productive dust, metals and their salts (manganese, chromium, and their compounds, and nickel compounds), metal-working fluids, strong acids (sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid), organic solvents (benzene and its homologues, trichloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride) and high temperature. The multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that metal-working fluids, male, age, dry skin, and history of skin allergies and asthma were the risk factors. Among them, the OR value of metal-working fluids (5.007) was the highest.
Conclusion The prevalence rate of hand eczema in workers of ferrous metal smelting and calendering processing industry is high. Effective protective measures should be implemented to reduce and prevent the occurrence of hand eczema in this population.
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