Table 2.
Skin symptoms in the last 12 months, as reported by current cleaning workers and members of the comparison population, and criteria used to define hand dermatitis
| Total Population (n=818) |
Comparison Population (n=125) |
Current Cleaning Workers (n=693) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) | No. (%) | No. (%) | |
| Symptoms | |||
| Red hands or fingers and fissures | 146 (18) | 10 (8) | 136 (20) |
| Scaling hands or fingers, with fissures | 136 (17) | 11 (9) | 125 (18) |
| Red, swollen hands or fingers | 124 (15) | 10 (8) | 114 (16) |
| Itching hands or fingers, with fissures | 102 (12) | 8 (6) | 94 (14) |
| Vesicles on hands or between fingers | 43 (5) | 5 (4) | 38 (5) |
| Criteria | |||
| ≥1 symptom | 275 (34) | 27 (22) | 248 (36) |
| ≥1 symptom that lasted >3 weeks or occurred >once1 | 213 (26) | 22 (18) | 191 (28) |
| ≥2 symptoms that lasted >3 weeks or occurred >once | 95 (12) | 6 (5) | 89 (13) |
1
Definition of hand dermatitis used in this analysis