Prevalence of self-reported hand dermatosis in upper secondary school pupils

The purpose of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of self-reported hand dermatosis among upper secondary school pupils. All pupils in grades 1 and 3 from the four upper secondary schools in Växjö, southern Sweden, were invited to participate in the study. A previously validated questionnaire was used. Of the 2609 invited pupils, 2572 (98.6%) responded to the questionnaire. The point prevalence of self-reported hand dermatosis was 4.2% (95% CI, 3.4-4.9%) with no significant differences between gender and grades. The overall one-year prevalence of self-reported hand dermatosis was 10.0% (95% CI, 8.8-11.1%), i.e. the corresponding figures for males were 7.3% (95% CI, 5.9-8.8%) and for females 12.5% (95% CI, 10.6-14.6%). There were significant gender differences in grade 1 (p < 0.001) and in grade 3 (p < 0.05). Males and females from the hotel and restaurant course had the highest one-year prevalence in grade 3. It is concluded that the high point and one-year prevalence of hand dermatosis among upper secondary school pupils merits long-term prospective study in order to address the question of which aetiological or trigger factors are most important in the development of hand dermatosis in a population.