DERMATOSES DETERMINED IN A POPULATION OF FARMERS IN A QUESTIONNAIRE-BASED CLINICAL-STUDY INCLUDING METHODOLOGY VALIDATION

Objectives The study analyzed skin diseases in a population sample of Finnish farmers descriptively and in the process validated the questio n ''Do you have a skin disease now?'' Methods All farmers from one Fin nish municipality were surveyed for dermatoses, first with a questionn aire and then with a clinical examination of those who reported dermat oses. Another population of farmers answered a set of questions immedi ately before a clinical examination and the self-report of current der matosis was validated. Results Eczema was diagnosed for 66% of the wom en and 53% of the men who had reported dermatosis in the questionnaire study 6 to 12 months earlier. Toe-web maceration, psoriasis, follicul itis, and acne were, after eczema, the most frequent diagnoses (in tha t order). In more than 50% of the cases, the location of clinically de termined dermatoses corresponded with the skin disease areas reported 6 to 12 months earlier. In the validation study, everyone who reported a skin disease immediately before the clinical examination were found to have a skin disease. In addition 2246 of those not reporting derma tosis were found to have a skin disease. Toe-web maceration was the mo st common dermatosis not reported by the farmers. Conclusions Finnish farmers suffered from the same type of dermatoses as other populations . The prevalence of eczema and hand eczema was similar to that of othe r risk populations. A self-report of current dermatosis is probably a good indicator of the point prevalence of explicit skin diseases in po pulations.