Occupational hand dermatosis among betel quid assemblers

Abstract

Background:According to the data of Ministry of Interior the consumption of betel quid was preceded only by tea cigarettes and alcohol Some ingredients of the betel quid have been identified as carcinogens and many studies have shown that betel quid chewing can not only increase the risk of oral cancer oropharyngeal cancer and liver cancer but also lead to mental disorders Studies in Taiwan have also shown that the betel leaf can cause skin dermatitis and that those who engaged in packing betel quid reported more skin dermatitis Associations between the ingredients of the betel quid and skin disorders are unclear and there are few related studies Therefore we conduct a study to investigate which ingredients of betel quid may lead to skin disorders of betel quid assemblers and thus recommend appropriate protective measures to reduce the risk of skin damage In addition we assessed the prevalence of skin disorders in betel quid assemblers in southern Taiwan Methods:This is a cross-sectional study We collected data on demographics lifestyle work-related risk factors and skin health status by using a questionnaire In addition we used betel leaves white lime red lime and areca catechu as allergens to perform skin patch test Furthermore we proposed appropriate protective measures to reduce betel quid assemblers’ exposure to the risk factors Result:We obtained questionnaires from 110 assemblers and performed skin patch tests on 33 The common skin injuries include erythema (23 6%) thickened or lichenified (16 3%) itching (13 6%) pigmentation (12 7%) and eczematous (11 8%) In most cases the skin disorders were mild In skin patch tests we did not identify the allergens among these workers Conclusions:The prevalence of skin disorders was high in betel quid assemblers but most of them had mild hand skin damages We results did not identify allergens in skin patch tests but found the prevalence of hand skin disorders was lower in betel quid assemblers who wore gloves

Date of Award	2015 Feb 17
Original language	English
Supervisor	How-Ran Guo (Supervisor)