Prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis Criteria among Textile Workers with Occupational Allergic Contact Dermatitis and Effects of Having Atopic Dermatitis on Contact Antigenic Diversity

Özet

Objectives: Contact dermatitis (CD) is a common skin disease. Occupational contact dermatitis (OCD) is the most frequently seenoccupational skin disease and includes both occupational allergic CD (OACD) and occupational irritant CD (OICD). One of the mostcommon sources of OACD is textile products. Individuals with atopic dermatitis (AD) have an increased risk for development ofallergic contact dermatitis (ACD). However, the role of AD in the etiopathogenesis of the development of OACD among textile industry workers is not well known. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of AD among textile workers withOACD and to analyze contact antigenic diversity between the workers with and without AD.Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted with 352 textile workers who had previously been diagnosed withOACD. The patients were questioned and examined with respect to AD criteria, demographic features, disease duration, durationof employment until first symptoms, phototype, workplace (subsectors), and location of lesions at control visits. Immediate skintest reactivity was evaluated with a commercial skin prick test panel. The data obtained and the patients’ previously recordedpatch test results were compared in OACD groups with and without a diagnosis of AD. The results were statistically evaluated witha significance level of p value <0.05.Results: The study population consisted of 124 males and 227 females. The mean age was 35.69±13.65 years. The most commonlyseen employment duration, phototype, subsector, and location were 4 to 8 months (26.14%), 9 to 12 months (34.66%), Fitzpatricktype-III (37.50%), dyeing (33.52%), and exclusively the hands (60.51%), respectively. In all, 193 patients (54.83%) met the criteriafor the diagnosis of AD. In the OACD group with AD, there was a significant number with 4 major and 16 minor criteria, as well aspositivity for 14 contact allergens.Conclusion: Most AD criteria, or a diagnosis of AD, are highly detectable among workers with textile-related OACD. The results forpatch test allergens may be significantly higher than those of individuals without AD. Textile workers with AD should be warnedabout the possibility of the early development of OACD.