FREQUENCIES OF OCCUPATIONAL ALLERGIC DISEASES AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN FINLAND

In Finland occupational diseases are registered by diagnosis, causativ e agent, age, occupation, field of work, and gender. This report analy zes in detail the 1991 statistics on gender differences in occupationa l allergic diseases. A total of 1314 cases of occupational allergic di seases were reported, comprising 14.2% of all registered occupational diseases. The following allergic occupational diseases were encountere d: allergic contact dermatitis (412 cases), bronchial asthma (352), al lergic rhinitis (319), contact urticaria/protein contact dermatitis (1 46), and allergic alveolitis (85). The number of cases of allergic alv eolitis (men, 42 cases; women, 43 cases) and bronchial asthma (176 men /176 women) was about equal in both genders. Women were overrepresente d in allergic rhinitis (195 women/124 men), allergic contact dermatiti s (247 women/165 men), and contact urticaria/protein contact dermatiti s (109 women/37 men). According to current knowledge, there are no gre at gender differences in the development of asthma or allergic rhiniti s. The greater number of women with occupational respiratory allergy a nd immediate skin allergy may indicate that women in Finland are more exposed to type I allergens than men. The greater number of cases of a llergic contact dermatitis in women may reveal women's predisposition to delayed-type allergy, or women's greater occupational exposure to c ontact allergens.