Chemical exposure and symptoms of hand dermatitis in construction painters

Studies on the prevalence of hand dermatitis in construction painting are rare. Our aim was to study the painters' chemical exposure and the prevalence of self-reported skin symptoms on hands and forearms. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on 1000 Finnish male construction painters and 1000 carpenters (response rates 60.6% and 60.4%, respectively). We used 2 definitions for symptom-based hand dermatitis (liberal > or = 2 symptoms and strict criteria > or = 3) and logistic regression analysis, adjusted with age and atopy. Painters reported more symptoms of hand dermatitis than carpenters (12-month prevalence 22.5% and 14.2%, P < 0.05; strict criteria 13.3% and 6.4%, P < 0.05). A dose-response relationship was found for reporting symptoms and exposure to several solvent-based (SB) and water-based (WB) products. When exposure was combined into 1 variable, daily use of SB epoxy/urethane paints (OR 5.3, 95% CI 2.2-12.9; strict criteria 6.8, 2.3-19.9) and WB putties/plasters (1.9, 1.2-3.0; strict criteria 2.0, 1.1-3.9) were associated with hand dermatitis, whereas using only WB paints was not a risk factor. In conclusion, painters reported significantly more symptoms of hand dermatitis than carpenters. Putties/plasters emerged as a risk factor for dermatitis in construction painting.