Facial skin complaints and work at visual display units. A histopathological study.

Facial punch biopsies from 83 patients with skin complaints with or without skin lesions and supposedly associated with work at visual display units (VDUs) were compared to biopsies from 51 subjects with no VDU exposure with or without skin lesions. Coded slides were assessed by three independent observers regarding hyperplasia of sebaceous glands, occurrence of telangiectases, intensity of inflammatory infiltrate, degree of hydropic degeneration of basal cells, occurrence of demodex folliculorum, number of mast cells and degree of degenerative changes in elastic fibers. No parameter was significantly more common in exposed subjects than in non-exposed persons with equivalent skin signs. The controls without skin lesions also showed various degrees of histologic changes. Hyperplasia of sebaceous glands was more common in men and in young persons. Degenerative changes in elastic fibers increased with age, but were also obvious in some persons under 35 years of age. In this study no characteristic histologic changes in facial skin were found in individuals with skin symptoms claimed to be associated with exposure to VDUs.