THE PSYCHOSOCIAL WORK-ENVIRONMENT AND SKIN SYMPTOMS AMONG VISUAL-DISPLAY TERMINAL WORKERS - A CASE-REFERENT STUDY

Background. This study is a part of the interdisciplinary project The Office Illness Project in Northern Sweden, which was initiated with a questionnaire study in late 1988. Previously published results from th e project have shown that facial skin symptoms reported among visual d isplay terminal (VDT) workers are associated with a number of exogenou s factors. This part of the project investigated the relation between the psychosocial work environment and facial skin complaints. Methods. From an initial questionnaire study among 4943 office workers, 163 VD T workers were selected for a case referent study of facial skin sympt oms. The data comprise a self-administered questionnaire filled out by 149 subjects and interviews with representatives of the organizations concerned. Results. Psychosocial conditions, especially lack of socia l support from co-workers, were associated with an increased risk of r eporting skin symptoms. Stratification by sex showed that the associat ions between some psychosocial factors and health differed between men and women. The results indicate that there might be an interaction be tween psychosocial factors and electric fields in the workplace which increases the risk of reporting skin symptoms. Conclusions. This study supports the idea that the aetiological basis of facial skin symptoms among VDT-workers includes physical as well as psychosocial factors, and that the interaction between such factors might be significant in the understanding of skin complaints among VDT workers.