Occupational dermatoses and allergy to metals in Polish construction workers manufacturing prefabricated building units

Our plain-English summary of Occupational dermatoses and allergy to metals in Polish construction workers manufacturing prefabricated building units, by M. Kieć-Swierczyńska (Contact Dermatitis, 1990).

The study

• Author: M. Kieć-Swierczyńska
• Journal: Contact Dermatitis
• Published: 1990;23(1):27-32
• Cited by: 17 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

The incidence of dermatoses and allergy to metals (Cr, Co, Ni) was determined in 1782 workers exposed to cement, waste fly ash and asbestos cement. They were also exposed to reclaimed (used), mineral oils. Dermatitis was found in 23.6% of the subjects, and oil acne in 11.2%. Allergy to chromium was found in 23% of the subjects; the % of definitely positive patch test results (the total of positive +(+) and strongly positive +(+)+ was, however, 8.6%. Allergy to cobalt was found in 13.4% of the subjects examined (definite in 3.1%). Allergy to nickel was found in 2.7% of the subjects (definite in 1.1%). The risks of occurrence of occupational skin disease and allergy to metals in subjects exposed to ash were found to be lower than in subjects exposed to cement, and were similar to those in subjects exposed to asbestos cement. Overall chromium, cobalt and nickel contents in ash and asbestos were higher than in cement. Soluble chromium compound content in ash was lower than in cement from European countries and similar to that in American cement.

In plain English

This study examined the skin of 1782 Polish workers (230 women, 1552 men) exposed to cement, waste fly ash from power plants, or asbestos cement. The asbestos cement group was 178 workers who produced prefabricated units from asbestos cement and mineral wool. They were the whole staff of one factory that made roof units and heat-insulation materials. All workers were also exposed to oils and machine greases. Each worker was patch tested for chromium, cobalt and nickel allergy and compared with 111 controls (tree fellers and seamstresses). Among exposed workers, 23.6% had dermatitis and 11.2% had oil acne, both more often than controls. Dermatitis was most common in cement workers (28.2%). Oil acne was most common in asbestos cement workers (16.9%). Among exposed workers, 23% were allergic to chromium (definite in 8.6%), 13.4% to cobalt (definite in 3.1%) and 2.7% to nickel (definite in 1.1%). The asbestos tested contained 7 times more chromium and cobalt than cement, and 80 times more nickel. Risks in ash workers were lower than in cement workers and similar to those in asbestos cement workers. The author concluded that the results suggest ash has irritant and allergic effects.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Cross-sectional dermatological survey of exposed workers and a control group, with patch testing for metal allergy and chemical analysis of metal content in the raw materials
• Who was studied: 1782 workers in Poland (230 female, 1552 male) in six groups: 141 power plant workers handling fly ash, 149 cement plant workers handling dry cement, 905 workers making concrete from wet cement, 252 making cellular concrete from wet ash, 157 making cellular concrete from ash-cement mixes, and 178 making prefabricated units from asbestos cement and mineral wool (the whole staff of one factory producing roof units and heat-insulation materials). The control group was 111 subjects (74 male tree fellers and 37 female seamstresses). The study dates are not given.
• Exposure: Cement (dry and wet), waste fly ash, ash-cement mixes, and asbestos cement and mineral wool. In the article's description of Polish production, roof units are made from asbestos cement and mineral wool is used as heat insulation. All subjects were also exposed to oils and machine greases. Those making units from cement and ash were also exposed to reclaimed (used) mould oils. The asbestos fiber type is not stated.
• Main results:
  • Among all exposed workers, dermatitis was found in 23.6% and oil acne in 11.2%.
  • Dermatitis and oil acne were more frequent in the exposed group than in the control group (P less than 0.0001).
  • Dermatitis was highest, at 28.2%, in workers exposed to cement (overall, dry, and in concrete).
  • The highest rate of oil acne (16.9%) was in workers producing asbestos cement.
  • Among all exposed workers, allergy to chromium was found in 23%. Definitely positive patch tests (moderate plus strong reactions) were found in 8.6%.
  • Among all exposed workers, allergy to cobalt was found in 13.4% (definite in 3.1%) and allergy to nickel in 2.7% (definite in 1.1%).
  • At least one positive metal patch test was found in 71 women (30.9%) and 442 men (28.5%) of the exposed group, and in 2 women (5.4%) and 9 men (12.2%) of the control group. Allergy to chromium and cobalt was more frequent in the exposed group than in controls (p less than 0.001).
  • The risks of skin disease and metal allergy in ash-exposed workers were lower than in cement-exposed workers and similar to those in asbestos cement workers.
  • Chromium and cobalt content in the asbestos analysed was 7 times higher than in cement, and nickel content was 80 times higher.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that the results suggest ash has irritant and allergic effects.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos-Cement.

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