title: Atopic background in patients with occupational hand eczema.
abstract: Of 368 patients with hand eczema examined during the years 1978-79, at a Department of Occupational Dermatology, 39% had a history of atopic disease (dermatitis, asthma, or rhinitis). 28% of the patients had or had had atopic dermatitis. The % of atopics in the patient material was highest in the age range 20-24 years, in which 57% of the patients had a history of atopic dermatitis, compared with only 11% in the age range above 35 years. Of all patients with a history of atopy, 22% had developed allergic contact dermatitis, while the corresponding figure for non-atopics was 45% (p less than = 0.001). Positive patch test reactions occurred in a significantly smaller number of individuals with past or present atopic disease than in non-atopics. Atopics had not changed jobs because of hand eczema to a greater extent, but had healed to a lesser extent after change of occupation than non-atopics (p less than 0.01).
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rystedt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009783:Dermatitis, Occupational / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D004485:Eczema / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006229:Hand Dermatoses / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D010328:Patch Tests
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E