Epidemiology of hand dermatitis among rural nursing students in mainland China: results from a preliminary study

Although hand dermatitis (HD) is known to affect nursing students worldwide, no studies of this disease have yet been conducted in China. Similarly, rural populations are often neglected in international research.

A preliminary study of female students from both grades of a hospital-based nursing school was conducted in Hebei Province, China, approximately 280 km south of Beijing. There were 27 students from the 2nd year of the course (47.4%) and 30 students from the 3rd year (52.6%). The study protocol involved an anonymous questionnaire distributed to a convenience sample of both grades from the nursing school. Statistical differences in prevalence by year of study were calculated using Fisher's exact test for discrete variables and One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for continuous variables. Statistical associations between HD and demographic items were investigated using the chi2 test. Where statistical association with HD were identified, simple logistic regression was also performed to establish a basic risk magnitude. Results were compared with similar populations of student nurses from previous studies in Australia, Japan, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany.

HD prevalence fell from 29.6% in the 2nd year to 13.3% in the 3rd year and averaged 21.1% across both grades. Systemic allergic disease among family members was found to be statistically associated with HD (p < 0.05). Overall, our preliminary study showed that HD probably affects Chinese nursing students at rates similar to that of their Japanese counterparts, but at a higher rate than students in other investigations from Germany, Holland and Australia. The identification of familial allergic disease as a possible risk factor for HD was also novel.

The investigation was conducted as a preliminary investigation, and as such, our results need to be treated with caution. Further research is recommended to more carefully elucidate the prevalence of HD among larger groups of Chinese nursing students.