WORK OUTCOME IN WORKERS WITH OCCUPATIONAL SKIN-DISEASE

We carried out a follow-up study of employment outcome for 230 workers with a diagnosis of occupational skin disease who were at least 2 yea rs postdiagnosis. Seventy-eight percent of the workers were working, b ut 57% of those working had changed jobs, 67% because of their skin pr oblem. Thirty-one percent had lost no time from work because of their skin disease, while 35% had lost at least 1 month. Forty-three percent had applied for workers' compensation benefits, and 87% of those who had applied were successful in their claims. Older workers were more l ikely to be unemployed and to have applied for workers' compensation b enefits. Women were less likely to have lost time from work and to hav e applied for workers' compensation. Those who had changed their jobs tended to have a better outcome with respect to active dermatitis, tho ugh they had lost more time from work and had more often applied for w orkers' compensation benefits. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.