title: Nasal, eye, and skin irritation in dockyard painters.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the risk of irritant symptoms in painters is related to their exposure to paint.
  
  
  METHODS
  The prevalences of skin, eye and nasal symptoms were compared in 260 United Kingdom and 109 Chinese dockyard painters, 539 British community controls, and 255 Chinese dockyard controls, relative to their exposure to paints.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Painters showed an excess of irritant symptoms compared with controls. Adjusted relative risks (RRs) (95% confidence interval (95% CI) were: for skin irritation 1.58 (1.19 to 2.08) in British painters and 2.68 (1.73 to 4.09) in Chinese painters; for eye irritation, 1.41 (0.98 to 2.05) and 3.01 (1.90 to 4.76); and for nasal irritation, 1.53 (1.10 to 2.14) and 6.73 (3.53 to 12.82), respectively. Exposure duration-response relations were found for these symptoms; the risks decreased with time after exposure ended.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Irritant symptoms occur more often in dockyard painters than in controls, and this is likely to be a response to exposure to paint.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Medical School, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Semple
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dick
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Seaton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D017453:Dermatitis, Irritant / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007509:Irritants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D009668:Nose Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D010150:Paint / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D012767:Ships
chemical_list: D007509:Irritants