Prevalence of occupational contact dermatitis, knowledge, and adaption of preventive measures by chemical industries workers of Pune: An observational study

Abstract

Ateequr Rahman, Arshiya Sultana, Khaleequr Rahman, Syed Taher Ali Bilgrami

Objective: The aim was to study the prevalence of occupational contact dermatitis (OCD), knowledge and adaption of preventive measures by chemical industries workers in Pimpri Chinchwad, Pune. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2010 to July 2011 on five hundred randomly chosen participants from varnish, cement, nickel salt, and oil paint industries. A semi-structured interview questionnaire was used to record details regarding socio-demographic data, knowledge and preventive measures adapted toward occupational hazards. Nordic occupational skin questionnaire and occupational contact dermatitis disease severity index (ODDI) were used to record the data related to the disease. Results: Overall prevalence of OCD was 5.20% (n = 26/500). The prevalence in varnish, oil paint, nickel salt, and cement exposed workers was 9.82% (n = 11/112), 6.42% (n= 7/109), 3.72% (n = 6/161) and 1.69% (n = 2/118), respectively. The ODDI mean (standard deviation) score of severity index was 4.2 (1.44). The prevalence regarding poor, average and good knowledge of occupational hazards was 7.22% (n = 12/166), 4.24% (n = 12/283) and 3.92% (n = 2/51) respectively. The prevalence regarding not at all, irregularly and regularly adapting preventive measures was 11.11% (n = 13/117), 4.67% (n = 10/214) and 1.78% (n = 3/169), respectively. Conclusion: The workers involved in varnish chemical industry are more susceptible to OCD than workers involved in nickel salt, cement, and oil paint industries. This study clearly indicates that knowledge regarding the occupational hazards and adaption of preventive measures are prerequisite to lower the prevalence of OCD in chemical industries workers as prevalence was higher in poor knowledge workers and workers who had not adapted any preventive measures.