Healing of hand eczema

Healing of hand eczema

The healing of OHE 7–14 years after the diagnosis, defined
as absence of eczema during the last 12 months, is presented
in Table 2. As many as 40% of the patients had no hand
eczema during the past 12 months. The healing of OHE was
poorer in patients with skin or respiratory atopy compared
with those with no atopy. The duration of hand eczema
before the diagnosis correlated most significantly with healing:
it was most frequent among patients whose hand
eczema had lasted a year or less. The presence of workrelated
chromate allergy was associated with poor healing. In
the multivariate logistic regression analysis, change of occupation,
duration of hand eczema before diagnosis, and skin
and respiratory atopy were significant risk factors for the
continuation of OHE (Table 3).
Table 2 Healing of occupational hand eczema (not present during the
last 12 months) at 7–14 years after diagnosis (n = 605)
OHE healed, n (%)
Sex
Men (n = 275) 105 (38)
Women (n = 330) 135 (41)
Agea
< 45 years (n = 320) 128 (40)
‡ 45 years (n = 285) 112 (39)
Atopy
No atopy (n = 440) 192 (44)
Skin atopy (n = 93) 29 (31)
Respiratory atopyb (n = 72) 19 (26)
P = 0Æ004
Patch test results
Negative patch tests (n = 128) 41 (32)
Nickel allergyc (n = 146) 60 (41)
Any other contact allergy (n = 331) 139 (42)
Duration of OHEd
0–1 year (n = 184) 103 (56)
1–2 years (n = 109) 33 (30)
2–5 years (n = 127) 50 (39)
5–10 years (n = 86) 29 (34)
Over 10 years (n = 85) 18 (21)
P < 0Æ0001
Occupationa
Dental personnel (n = 55) 24 (44)
Food-related occupation (n = 52) 16 (31)
Machinery mechanics (n = 42) 19 (45)
Farmers (n = 34) 15 (44)
Hairdressers (n = 32) 13 (41)
Machinists (n = 29) 10 (34)
Health care workers (n = 25) 9 (36)
Other (n = 336) 134 (40)
Diagnosis
ACD (n = 354) 151 (43)
ICD (n = 251) 89 (35)
Work-related allergy
Rubber chemicals (n = 49) 15 (31)
Formaldehyde (n = 38) 12 (32)
Epoxy chemicals (n = 36) 21 (58)
Acrylates (n = 31) 20 (65)
Chromate (n = 15) 2 (13)
Other (n = 436) 170 (39)
P = 0Æ001
All (n = 605) 240 (40)
aAt time of diagnosis. bOnly respiratory atopy without skin
atopy. cMay include other contact allergies. dFrom onset of
symptoms to diagnosis. OHE, occupational hand eczema; ACD,
allergic contact dermatitis; ICD, irritant contact dermatitis.
P-values are shown only when P < 0Æ05.
Table 3 Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for
continuation of occupational hand eczema (OHE) at 7–14 years after
diagnosis (n = 605)
OR (95% CI)
Agea
< 45 years 1
‡ 45 years 0Æ80 (0Æ53–1Æ21)
Sex
Women 1
Men 1Æ30 (0Æ83–2Æ04)
Atopy
No atopy 1
Skin atopy 1Æ86 (1Æ08–3Æ19)
Respiratory atopyb 2Æ69 (1Æ44–4Æ92)
Patch test results
Negative patch tests 1
Nickel allergyc 0Æ74 (0Æ39–1Æ40)
Any other contact allergy 0Æ67 (0Æ39–1Æ18)
Duration of OHEd
0–1 year 1
1–2 years 3Æ05 (1Æ78–5Æ21)
2–5 years 1Æ90 (1Æ16–3Æ09)
5–10 years 2Æ57 (1Æ44–4Æ58)
Over 10 years 4Æ55 (2Æ38–8Æ71)
Occupationa
Other than below 1
Dental personnel 1Æ13 (0Æ55–2Æ32)
Food-related occupation 1Æ86 (0Æ91–3Æ80)
Machinery mechanics 0Æ72 (0Æ35–1Æ49)
Farmers 0Æ78 (0Æ36–1Æ67)
Hairdressers 0Æ91 (0Æ39–2Æ10)
Machinists 1Æ27 (0Æ53–3Æ03)
Health care workers 1Æ07 (0Æ40–2Æ86)
Change of occupation
Yes 1
No 1Æ55 (1Æ03–2Æ34)
Work-related contact allergy
No work-related contact allergy 1
Rubber chemicals 1Æ58 (0Æ75–3Æ33)
Formaldehyde 1Æ08 (0Æ47–2Æ46)
Epoxy chemicals 0Æ58 (0Æ25–1Æ37)
Acrylates 0Æ50 (0Æ19–1Æ29)
Chromate 2Æ83 (0Æ58–13Æ78)
Other than above 0Æ85 (0Æ53–1Æ38)
aAt time of diagnosis. bOnly respiratory atopy without skin
atopy. cMay include other contact allergies. dFrom onset of
symptoms to diagnosis. Statistically significant results are shown
in bold.