Hand eczema, wet work exposure, and quality of life in health care workers in Denmark during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: The focus on hand hygiene during the pandemic has been reported to increase the hand eczema (HE) prevalence in health care workers (HCWs); however, detailed prospective data are missing. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in HE prevalence, exposures, and health-related quality of life among...

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Autores principales: Yüksel, Yasemin Topal, Nørreslet, Line Brok, Flachs, Esben Meulengracht, Ebbehøj, Niels Erik, Agner, Tove
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8898740/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35281322
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jdin.2022.02.009
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author Yüksel, Yasemin Topal
Nørreslet, Line Brok
Flachs, Esben Meulengracht
Ebbehøj, Niels Erik
Agner, Tove
author_facet Yüksel, Yasemin Topal
Nørreslet, Line Brok
Flachs, Esben Meulengracht
Ebbehøj, Niels Erik
Agner, Tove
author_sort Yüksel, Yasemin Topal
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: The focus on hand hygiene during the pandemic has been reported to increase the hand eczema (HE) prevalence in health care workers (HCWs); however, detailed prospective data are missing. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in HE prevalence, exposures, and health-related quality of life among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, HCWs employed at the hospitals in Copenhagen responded to a digital questionnaire at the beginning of the pandemic and 11 months thereafter. RESULTS: A total of 795 HCWs responded to both questionnaires (83.4% women). The calculated 1-year HE prevalence decreased from 16.0% at baseline to 13.0% at follow-up. The number of hand washings decreased significantly, whereas the use of alcohol-based hand rubs on wet skin increased significantly. In a logistic regression model, increased use of alcohol-based hand rubs on wet skin was associated with HE at follow-up (odds ratio, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.11-2.87). Health-related quality of life worsened slightly at follow-up, with HE severity and frequent flareups being risk factors for a reduced health-related quality of life. LIMITATIONS: Sample size. CONCLUSION: In contrast to previous studies undertaken during the pandemic, we found a relatively low and stable HE prevalence. Our findings suggest that the interaction between changed exposures and HE is complex and cannot be linked to a single factor.
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spelling pubmed-88987402022-03-07 Hand eczema, wet work exposure, and quality of life in health care workers in Denmark during the COVID-19 pandemic Yüksel, Yasemin Topal Nørreslet, Line Brok Flachs, Esben Meulengracht Ebbehøj, Niels Erik Agner, Tove JAAD Int Original Article BACKGROUND: The focus on hand hygiene during the pandemic has been reported to increase the hand eczema (HE) prevalence in health care workers (HCWs); however, detailed prospective data are missing. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in HE prevalence, exposures, and health-related quality of life among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, HCWs employed at the hospitals in Copenhagen responded to a digital questionnaire at the beginning of the pandemic and 11 months thereafter. RESULTS: A total of 795 HCWs responded to both questionnaires (83.4% women). The calculated 1-year HE prevalence decreased from 16.0% at baseline to 13.0% at follow-up. The number of hand washings decreased significantly, whereas the use of alcohol-based hand rubs on wet skin increased significantly. In a logistic regression model, increased use of alcohol-based hand rubs on wet skin was associated with HE at follow-up (odds ratio, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.11-2.87). Health-related quality of life worsened slightly at follow-up, with HE severity and frequent flareups being risk factors for a reduced health-related quality of life. LIMITATIONS: Sample size. CONCLUSION: In contrast to previous studies undertaken during the pandemic, we found a relatively low and stable HE prevalence. Our findings suggest that the interaction between changed exposures and HE is complex and cannot be linked to a single factor. Elsevier 2022-03-07 /pmc/articles/PMC8898740/ /pubmed/35281322 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jdin.2022.02.009 Text en © 2022 by the American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
spellingShingle Original Article
Yüksel, Yasemin Topal
Nørreslet, Line Brok
Flachs, Esben Meulengracht
Ebbehøj, Niels Erik
Agner, Tove
Hand eczema, wet work exposure, and quality of life in health care workers in Denmark during the COVID-19 pandemic
title Hand eczema, wet work exposure, and quality of life in health care workers in Denmark during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full Hand eczema, wet work exposure, and quality of life in health care workers in Denmark during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_fullStr Hand eczema, wet work exposure, and quality of life in health care workers in Denmark during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Hand eczema, wet work exposure, and quality of life in health care workers in Denmark during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_short Hand eczema, wet work exposure, and quality of life in health care workers in Denmark during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_sort hand eczema, wet work exposure, and quality of life in health care workers in denmark during the covid-19 pandemic
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8898740/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35281322
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jdin.2022.02.009
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