Occupational Health and Environmental Medicine Unit, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia.
Contact Dermatitis. 2022 Jun;86(6):507-513. doi: 10.1111/cod.14069. Epub 2022 Feb 28.
Studies investigating simultaneous influence of personal and work-related factors on skin health during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are missing.
To investigate the associations of skin hazards relevant for nursing apprentices with parameters of skin barrier function.
A total of 238 nursing apprentices attending the final year of education (median age 19 years) from vocational schools in Zagreb, Croatia, were enrolled in this study. We administered a questionnaire based on the Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire to the nursing apprentices, performed clinical examination of skin on the hands, and evaluated transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and stratum corneum (SC) pH on the dorsum of the hand.
Around half of nursing apprentices had compromised hand skin barrier function, as indicated by TEWL values >25 g/m /h (48%) and SC pH >5.5 (57%). Skin barrier was compromised in around 40% of nursing apprentices without clinically observed skin symptoms. Elevated SC pH was independent of ambient conditions associated with skin symptoms and female sex.
Measurement of SC pH was shown to be less sensitive to field conditions than TEWL, and should be employed more in the field studies. Strengthening of skin health promotion in healthcare workers and apprentices is needed in pandemic conditions.
目前缺乏研究同时探讨新冠疫情期间个人因素和与工作相关因素对皮肤健康的影响。
调查与护理实习生相关的皮肤危害与皮肤屏障功能参数之间的关联。
本研究纳入了来自克罗地亚萨格勒布职业学校的 238 名护理实习生（中位年龄 19 岁）。我们向护理实习生发放了基于北欧职业性皮肤问题调查问卷的问卷，对手部皮肤进行了临床检查，并在手背部评估了经表皮水分流失（TEWL）和角质层（SC）pH 值。
约一半的护理实习生的手部皮肤屏障功能受损，表现为 TEWL 值>25g/m /h（48%）和 SC pH 值>5.5（57%）。约 40%的护理实习生虽然没有观察到临床皮肤症状，但皮肤屏障功能受损。SC pH 值升高与与皮肤症状相关的环境条件以及女性性别无关。
与 TEWL 相比，SC pH 值的测量对现场条件的敏感性较低，因此应更多地在现场研究中使用。在大流行期间，需要加强医护人员和实习生的皮肤健康促进。
