Prevalence of dermatitis in the working population, United States, 2010 National Health Interview Survey

Background Prevalence patterns of dermatitis among workers offer clues about risk factors and targets for prevention, but population‐based estimates of the burden of dermatitis among US workers are lacking. Methods Data from an occupational health supplement to the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS‐OHS) were used to estimate the prevalence of dermatitis overall and by demographic characteristics and industry and occupation (I&O) of current/recent employment. Results Data were available for 27,157 adults, including 17,524 current/recent workers. The overall prevalence rate of dermatitis among current/recent workers was 9.8% (range among I&O groups: 5.5–15.4%), representing approximately 15.2 million workers with dermatitis. The highest prevalence rates were among I&O groups related to health care. Overall, 5.6% of dermatitis cases among workers (9.2% among healthcare workers) were attributed to work by health professionals. Conclusions Dermatitis affected over 15 million US workers in 2010, and its prevalence varied by demographic characteristics and industry and occupation of employment. The prevalence rate of work‐related dermatitis based on the NHIS‐OHS was approximately 100‐fold higher than incidence rates based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Survey of Occupational Illness and Injury. Am. J. Ind. Med. 56:625–634, 2013. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.