Ann Dermatol.  2016 Jun;28(3):335-343. 10.5021/ad.2016.28.3.335.

Clinical Features and Awareness of Hand Eczema in Korea

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Dermatology, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. lay5604@naver.com skin4u@korea.ac.kr
  • 2Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Korea. lay5604@naver.com skin4u@korea.ac.kr
  • 3Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 4Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
  • 5Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, Korea.
  • 6Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 7University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 8Ilsan Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Goyang, Korea.
  • 9Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea.
  • 10Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea.
  • 11College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
  • 12Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 13Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 14National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
  • 15Dankook University Medical College, Cheonan, Korea.
  • 16Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
  • 17Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 18Chung-Ang University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 19Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea.
  • 20Hana Clininc, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Hand eczema is one of the most common skin disorders and negatively affects quality of life. However, a large-scale multicenter study investigating the clinical features of patients with hand eczema has not yet been conducted in Korea.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the prevalence of various hand diseases, which is defined as all cutaneous disease occurring in hands, and to investigate the clinical features of patients with hand eczema and the awareness about hand eczema in the general population and to compare the prevalence of hand eczema between health care providers and non-health care providers.
METHODS
To estimate the prevalence of hand diseases, we analyzed the medical records of patients from 24 medical centers. Patients were assessed by online and offline questionnaires. A 1,000 from general population and 913 hand eczema patients answered the questionnaire, for a total of 1,913 subjects.
RESULTS
The most common hand disease was irritant contact dermatitis. In an online survey, the lifetime prevalence of hand eczema was 31.2%. Hand eczema was more likely to occur in females (66.0%) and younger (20~39 years, 53.9%). Health care providers and housewives were the occupations most frequently associated with hand eczema. Winter (33.6%) was the most common season which people experienced aggravation. The 63.0% and 67.0% answered that hand eczema hinders their personal relationship and negatively affects daily living activities, respectively.
CONCLUSION
Hand eczema is a very common disease and hinders the quality of life. The appropriate identification of hand eczema is necessary to implement effective and efficient treatment.

Keyword

Awareness; Clinical feature; Hand eczema; Multicenter study; Surveys and questionnaires

MeSH Terms

Activities of Daily Living
Dermatitis, Contact
Eczema*
Female
Hand*
Health Personnel
Humans
Korea*
Medical Records
Occupations
Prevalence
Quality of Life
Seasons
Skin
Surveys and Questionnaires

Figure

  • Fig. 1 The questionnaire for patients with hand eczema.

  • Fig. 2 Prevalence of diseases affecting the hands. ICD: irritant contact dermatitis, PPP: palmoplantar pustular psoriasis, ACD: allergic contact dermatitis, H-F-M disease: hand foot mouth disease.

  • Fig. 3 Online survey: How people in the general population gather information on hand eczema.

  • Fig. 4 Distribution of age of patients with hand eczema.

  • Fig. 5 Duration of hand eczema in patients.

  • Fig. 6 Causative agents suspected by patients.

  • Fig. 7 Causative agents in health care providers and non-health care providers.

  • Fig. 8 The most frequent areas of the hand to be affected by eczema.


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