Occupational allergic contact dermatitis in Singapore

Singapore has a resident population of 3 000 000 and a workforce of 1 780 C )OO. Most are employed in manufacturing, services and commerce (245 000). F rom 1996 to 1998, 3472 cases were notified to the Ministry of Manpower and confirmed as occupational diseases. Noise-induced hearing loss accounted fo r 82% of cases, while only 11% of cases were industrial dermatitis. Occupat ional allergic contact dermatitis was not common, comprising approximately one third of the 369 cases of industrial dermatitis that were notified. How ever, we believe that the majority of cases are not notified to the authori ties. The main occupational contact allergens were chromates, nickel, rubbe r chemicals, cutting fluids and resins. Most affected workers were from the : construction, electronics and metalworking industries. Case series of occ upational dermatoses among electronics and metal workers have been publishe d. Of the cases of occupational dermatoses among electronics workers seen a t a tertiary dermatological centre, 41% of 149 had allergic contact dermati tis (ACD). The commonest allergens were nickel, resins and rubber chemicals . In another case series of 252 metalworkers seen at the same dermatologica l centre, 23% suffered from ACD. The common allergens were metals and cutti ng fluids. Besides the common causes of ACD, unusual allergens have also be en described. One example is ACD to grasses, which is seen mainly among mil itary personnel. Population studies have been conducted in several industri es. A survey of 2567 electronics workers revealed a 2% point prevalence of ACD. Of the occupationally relevant cases, 46 were nickel sensitive, 7 reac ted to colophony, and 1 case to epoxy resin. A study of 272 prefabrication construction workers showed a 14% prevalence rate of occupational dermatiti s. Of the 38 cases, 42% were ACD to chromates and rubber chemicals. Occupat ional ACD in Singapore is not as uncommon as the reported statistics sugges t. Population-based reports, which overcome the problem of under-notificati on, show that the prevalence is variable in different industries. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.