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Allergic diseases are thought to have increased in the recent decades, albeit no clear pattern was reported. The aim of the study was to describe the most frequent occupational allergens involved in allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) and contact urticaria (CU) in France, and also to compare their frequencies over the period 2001-2009. Temporal trends were also statistically analyzed.
Methods
Data were collected from the French National Network for Monitoring and Prevention of Occupational Diseases (RNV3P). Two statistical methods (zero-inflated negative binomial and logistic regression models) were used to describe the trends of allergic occupational dermatitis (Ngatchou-Wandji J, Paris C. Journal of Data Science, in press).
Results
Overall, 3414 ACD and 245 CU were included over the period. The mean age of ACD cases was 35 years and 52% were women. We observed a slight but significant increase of all the ACD cases (11.6% in 2001 to 12.8% in 2009, p=0.037), and particularly for epoxy resins (p=0.035), perfumes (p=0.002), thiazoles (p=0.004), cosmetics (p=0.004) and biocides (p=0.028) related to ACD. By contrast, we observed a significant decrease for cement compounds (p=0.005), inorganic dusts (p=0.011), detergents (p=0.006) and plant products (p=0.009) related to ACD. Concerning CU, mean age was 36.5 years and 70% of cases were women. A close to significance decrease was suggested for all UC cases (10.8% to 7.3%, p=0.075) over the whole period, significant only for women (12,8%% to 7%, p=0.016). Latex was still the first agent of UC (43% of all cases), particularly in the health and social sector.
Discussion
Over the study period, work-related ACD cases significantly increased in France, especially those in relation with biocide and cosmetic exposures, whereas cases of CU decreased. Measures of vigilance and prevention for these allergens should be conducted.