Skin Diseases and Disorders
Occupational skin diseases and disorders include contact dermatitis, eczema, or rash caused by primary irritants and sensitizers or poisonous plants; oil acne; chrome ulcers; and chemical burns or inflammations. During 1972–2001, the number of skin diseases and disorders ranged from a peak of 89,400 cases in 1974 to a low of 38,900 in 2001 (Figure 2–204). Rates varied from a high of 8.2 cases per 10,000 full-time workers in 1992 to 4.3 in 2001—the lowest rate ever reported by BLS (Figure 2–205). Within reporting States in 2001, the number of cases ranged from fewer than 50 to 3,700 (Figure 2–206). Rates of skin diseases and disorders varied by State in 2001 from a low of 1.2 cases per 10,000 full-time workers in New Mexico to a high of 9.8 in Kansas; the U.S. rate was 4.3 cases per 10,000 full-time workers (Figure 2–207).
Magnitude and Trend
How did the number of occupational skin diseases and disorders change during 1972–2001?
 | Figure 2-204 Number of skin diseases and disorders in private industry, 1972-2001. The number of skin diseases and disorders peaked at 89,400 cases in 1974 then declined steadily to a low of 39,500 in 1983. Cases increased to 65,700 in 1994 then declined steadily to 38,900 in 2001. (Source: BLS [2002].) |
How did rates of occupational skin diseases and disorders change during 1984–2001?
 | Figure 2-205 Incidence rates of skin diseases and disorders in private industry, 1984-2001. Rates of skin diseases and disorders increased from 6.3 cases per 10,000 full-time workers in 1984 to 8.2 in 1992. Rates remained elevated through 1995 then declined to 4.3 cases per 10,000 full-time workers in 2001-the lowest rate ever reported by BLS. (Source: BLS [2002].) |
Numbers and Rates among States
How did the number of occupational skin diseases and disorders differ by State in 2001?
 | Figure 2-206 Number of skin diseases and disorders in private industry by State, 2001. The number of occupational skin diseases and disorders within reporting States ranged from fewer than 50 cases to 3,700 in 2001. BLS reported 38,900 cases in 2001. States with the highest numbers included California (3,700), Michigan (2,800), Texas (2,000), and Florida (1,900). (Source: BLS [2002].) |
How did the rates of occupational skin diseases and disorders differ by State in 2001?
 | Figure 2-207 Incidence rates for skin diseases and disorders in private industry by State, 2001. In 2001, rates of occupational skin diseases and disorders varied by State from a low of 1.2 cases per 10,000 full-time workers in New Mexico to a high of 9.8 in Kansas. The U.S. rate was 4.3 cases per 10,000 full-time workers. Lower rates were reported for the West, the Southwest, and the Mid-Atlantic States. (Source: BLS [2002].) |
Dermatitis
Dermatitis is an inflammation of the skin resulting from contact with allergens or irritants. Dermatitis may also be caused by reaction to something ingested. Several forms of dermatitis exist, including atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, allergic dermatitis, and irritant dermatitis. These disorders tend to be less severe (Figure 2–213) than the average nonfatal injury or illness case. They involve a median of 3 days away from work compared with 6 days for the average nonfatal injury or illness case [BLS 2003a].
BLS reported 4,714 dermatitis cases involving days away from work in 2001 (Figure 2–208). Rates declined 58.3% during 1992–2001, from 1.2 per 10,000 full-time workers in 1992 to 0.5 cases in 2001 (Figure 2–209). In 2001, most cases involved workers who were aged 25–54 (72.8%) (Figure 2–210), male (Figure 2–211), and white, non-Hispanic (64.5%) (Figure 2–212). Two occupational groups accounted for 56% of all dermatitis cases in 2001: operators, fabricators, and laborers (28.4% or 1,334 cases) and service workers (27.6% or 1,298 cases) (Figure 2–214). Dermatitis incidence rates exceeding the private-sector rate of 0.5 per 10,000 full-time workers were reported in 2001 for agriculture, forestry, and fishing (1.3 per 10,000 full-time workers), manufacturing (0.7), transportation and public utilities (0.7), and services (0.6) (Figure 2–215). Agriculture had consistently higher incidence rates than other industry sectors during 1992–2001 and experienced a 78% rate reduction over this period (Figure 2–216).
Magnitude and Trend
How did the number of occupational dermatitis cases change during 1992–2001?
 | Figure 2-208 Number of dermatitis cases involving days away from work in private industry, 1992-2001. The annual number of dermatitis cases involving days away from work declined significantly (50.1%) during 1992-2001, from 9,452 cases in 1992 to 4,714 cases in 2001. (Sources: BLS [2003a,b].) |
How did the annual rate of occupational dermatitis cases change during 1992–2001?
 | Figure 2-209 Annual rates of dermatitis cases involving days away from work in private industry, 1992-2001. The annual rate of private-sector dermatitis cases involving days away from work declined 58.3% during 1992-2001, from 1.2 per 10,000 full-time workers in 1992 to 0.5 in 2001. (Sources: BLS [2003a,b].) |
Age
How did the number of dermatitis cases differ by age of worker in 2001?
 | Figure 2-210 Distribution and number of dermatitis cases involving days away from work in private industry by age, 2001. Age data are available for 4,658 of the 4,714 BLS-estimated dermatitis cases involving days away from work. Workers aged 25-34 accounted for 1,267 cases or 27.2%, and workers aged 35-44 accounted for 1,189 cases or 25.5%. (Sources: BLS [2003a,b]; Booth-Jones et al. [2003d].) |
Sex
How did the distribution of dermatitis cases differ by sex of worker during 1992–2001?
 | Figure 2-211 Distribution of dermatitis cases involving days away from work in private industry by sex, 1992-2001. Male workers accounted for the greatest proportions of dermatitis cases, ranging from 53.4% to 60.3% during 1992-2001. In 2001, male workers accounted for 55.5% of dermatitis cases. (Sources: BLS [2003a,b]; Booth-Jones et al. [2003d]. |
Race/Ethnicity
How did dermatitis cases differ by race/ethnicity in 2001?
 | Figure 2-212 Distribution and number of dermatitis cases involving days away from work in private industry by race/ethnicity, 2001. Race/ethnicity data are available for 3,464 of the 4,714 BLS-estimated dermatitis cases involving days away from work in 2001. White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 64.5% of the cases, and Hispanic workers accounted for 20.1%. (Sources: BLS [2003a,b]; Booth-Jones et al. [2003d].) |
Severity
How did dermatitis cases compare with all nonfatal injury and illness cases when measured by days away from work in 2001?
 | Figure 2-213 Distribution of dermatitis cases and all nonfatal injury and illness cases involving days away from work in private industry by days away from work, 2001. Higher percentages of short-term work loss (1, 2, and 3-5 days) were reported for dermatitis cases in 2001. The median number of days away from work was 3 for dermatitis cases, whereas it was 6 days for all nonfatal injuries and illnesses. (Sources: BLS [2003a,b]; Booth-Jones et al. [2003d]. |
Occupation
How were dermatitis cases distributed by occupation in 2001?
 | Figure 2-214 Distribution and number of dermatitis cases involving days away from work in private industry by occupation, 2001. Operators, fabricators, and laborers along with service workers constituted more than half (56.0%) of the 4,701 dermatitis cases reported in 2001. (Sources: BLS [2003a,b]; Booth-Jones et al. [2003d].) |
Industry
How did the rate of dermatitis cases differ by private industry sector in 2001?
 | Figure 2-215 Incidence rate of dermatitis cases by private industry sector, 2001. For dermatitis cases, private industry reported an incidence rate of 0.5 per 10,000 full-time workers in 2001. Higher rates were reported for agriculture, forestry, and fishing (1.3), manufacturing (0.7), transportation and public utilities (0.7), and services (0.6). (Note: A dash in parentheses indicates that no data were reported or that data do not meet BLS publication criteria.) (Source: BLS [2003a].) |
How did the rates of dermatitis cases change by major private industry sector during 1992–2001?
 | Figure 2-216 Annual rates of dermatitis cases involving days away from work by private industry sector, 1992-2001. The annual rate for dermatitis cases in the private sector declined 58.3% during 1992-2001, and rates declined for each industry sector. Agriculture had consistently higher rates of dermatitis cases than other industry sectors and experienced a 78% rate reduction during this 10-year period. (Sources: BLS [2003a,b].) |
