Atopic mucosal symptoms were found in 13.2% of the
workers and atopic dermatitis in 6.6% of the workers.
Workers with past or present atopic dermatitis showed
significantly higher major dermatitis (x2
= 4.42, p =
0.035) compared to workers without atopic dermatitis.
Such a relationship was not found with atopic mucos?!
symptoms (x2
= 1.88, p = 0.17).
Skin type, according to the combination of question
4 and 5 (Appendix A) did not show a relationship with
hand dermatitis (the number of persons in some groups
were too small to draw a conclusion). However, there
was a clear relationship between chapped hands according
to question 5 and major dermatitis (x2
— 10.36,
p = 0.0013): more workers with chapped hands experienced
hand dermatitis compared to workers without.
Skin care products were used by 54.1% of the workers
at home and by 24.8% at work (at work alone or in
combination with home). A significantly higher number
of workers using skin care products had major dermatitis
compared to those who did not use such products
(relationships x
1
= 18.24, p = 0.00002 and x
2
= 6.37,
p = 0.012 respectively).