The prevalence of hand dermatitis among hairdressers
Hairdressers have a high prevalence of hand eczema. Previous studies have estimated that up to one third of hairdressers suffer from hand eczema, and that this is often not claimed as a work-related injury.
A Danish study from 1999 also show that hairdressers average worker nine years in the industry. There are no recent studies on the causes.
The project has established a cohort from all living persons (n = 12,000 persons) who has graduated from a hairdresser's academy in Denmark from 1985 to 2007. The hairdressers were divided into two groups: "Still working" and "Left the industry".
Questionnaires have been developed for both groups. The PhD project will be mapping:
-
The extent of hand eczema among hairdressers in Denmark.
-
The occupational and personal risk factors for hand eczema in hairdressers' daily lives.
-
Whether or not hand eczema is reported as a work-related injury.
-
How long the average hairdresser is working in the business.
-
Reasons for hairdressers to change profession.
-
The degree of under-reporting of hand eczema as a work-related injury in the workers' compensation statistics.
-
The resons why hand eczema is not reported as an work-related injury.
The study is unique because it is based on a complete cohort of hairdressers trained in Denmark over a 22-year period. The cohort could also be used for future research in hairdressers' health and morbidity.
The research is carried out by MSc, PhD-fellow Susan Hovman Lysdal from The Research Centre for Hairdressers and Beauticians in collaboration with the National Allergy Research Centre.
Prevention of hand eczema among hairdresser apprentices
Skin diseases are the most common occupational diseases in Denmark. Hand eczema accounts for 90-95%. The professions most often affected by work-related eczema in Denmark are bakers, hairdressers and dental assistants.
Half of all hairdressers will at some point suffer from skin problems. Hairdresser apprentices seem - compared with students in other professions - to be at particularly high risk of developing eczema due to their early and large exposure to wet work and many chemical products.
Occupational contact dermatitis tends to be a chronic condition with a mean duration of> 10 years. In Denmark the average hairdresser is working in approximately nine years in the profession. The reason for the short career has not been fully mapped, but studies have shown that up to 55% of hairdressers with occupational eczema have left the profession because of their skin problems. The change of career is not always associated with improved prognosis.
Therefor it is important to focus more on prevention, elimination of irritants and allergens in the work environment and improvement of hair dressers and their employers' knowledge.
The project focuses on preparing an intervention and education programme and implementing it in a part of the country's hairdresser academies. By following the apprentices we will study if such a focused intervention programme can reduce the incidence of occupational eczema among hairdresser apprentices, compared with a control group.
We also want to map the extent of eczema and allergies among hairdresser apprentices and characterise this group further in terms of gender, age, previous exposures, known allergies etc.
The research is carried out by MD PhD-fellow Anne Bregnhøj from The Research Centre for Hairdressers and Beauticians in collaboration with the National Allergy Research Centre.
