Profile of Dermatological Disorders Among Workers Involved in Fruit Growing Industry of Kashmir Valley in North India

Skin disorders represent a major proportion of occupational disorders. Dermatoses are becoming a source of concern in various population groups. In Kashmir valley, a large number of people are associated directly or indirectly with horticulture. Fruit cultivation is the main occupation of around 33 lakh people in the Union Territory.

To study the profile of dermatological disorders in workers involved in fruit growing industry of Kashmir valley.

This study was a cross-sectional observational study, carried out over a period of 2 years, in which 701 workers of fruit growing industry of Kashmir valley were screened.

276 (39.37%) of these workers were found to have skin lesions while the rest, that is, 425 (60.63%) were not found to have any dermatoses. Out of the total dermatological lesions observed, occupational dermatoses contributed to 94 cases (34.05%), while non-occupational dermatoses accounted for 182 cases (65.94%). Among the occupational dermatoses, friction-related disorders (callosities and cuts) were predominant (15.9%) followed by allergic (12%) and irritant contact dermatitis (6.2%). Out of the non-occupational dermatoses group, the major portion was comprised by polymorphic light eruption (6.2%) in non-infectious type while in infectious type, onychomycoses predominated (3.3%).

Dermatological conditions form a major group of occupational dermatoses among workers involved in fruit cultivation.