Associations between prevalence of adult atopic dermatitis and occupational characteristics

Abstract

Aim: To examine the prevalence of adult atopic dermatitis according to occupational status.

Background: While atopic dermatitis is more prevalent among children, some adults also suffer from it. The disease causes considerable difficulty in these adults' social lives at school or work, suggesting that they require high-quality health care. Given the chronic nature and environmental determinants of atopic dermatitis, its associations with occupational characteristics must be clarified.

Design: An exploratory cross-sectional analysis using secondary data.

Method: Participants were 662 people diagnosed with atopic dermatitis, all 19 years old or older; raw data were taken from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey V (2010-2012) and VI (2013-2014).

Results: Manual workers (adjusted odds ratio 2.50, 95% confidence interval, 1.30-4.83), paid workers (1.70, 1.15-2.51), regular workers (1.83, 1.18-2.85), and full-time workers (1.88, 1.23-2.89) all showed increased odds of currently suffering from atopic dermatitis.

Conclusion: Prevalence rates of atopic dermatitis differed by occupational characteristics, which suggests the need for interventions seeking to prevent symptom recurrence that are tailored to occupational characteristics. We expect this study to provide helpful baseline data for better policy-making.

Keywords: adult; atopic dermatitis; nursing; occupational status.