Work with video display terminals among office employees. V. Dermatologic factors

According to some reports, mainly from Norway, work with a video display terminal (VDT) has been suspected to cause skin rashes. In conjunction with an epidemiologic study of some 550 office employees, 74 persons, who complained of skin symptoms, were examined by occupational dermatologists. The objective was to see whether the findings from earlier reports could be confirmed, whether any type of rash could be suspected to depend on VDT work, and whether positive findings might be explained by means of physical data. Many different diagnoses were made, but no case demonstrated the clinical picture described among VDT operators from Norway. Subjects with seborrheic dermatitis, acne, and rosacea were overrepresented in the exposed group. Whether this occurrence was due to physical factors, psychological factors, or pure chance is still unclear. This study and observations from our clinic imply that a relationship might exist between VDT work and aggravation of seborrheic dermatitis, acne, and rosacea and probably poikiloderma of Civatte.