Occupational skin disease is very common and important among photographers due to the chemical substances used in photographic processes. In this cross-sectional study, 100 photographers were asked about their occupational exposures in their workplace. Physical examinations were done to find skin diseases and information about demographic factors and history of other skin diseases was collected via a questionnaire. This study examined 100 people, 86 men and 14 women; 37% of these 100 subjects were found to suffer from skin diseases and disorders: 24% contact dermatitis, 2% leukoderma, 3% nail hyperpigmentation. Less than half of these subjects (43%) were found to be working with nonmechanized (manual) printers whereas the other 57% worked with computerized printers. Employees working with nonmechanized printers were found to have a statistically meaningful increase in skin diseases compared with subjects who were working with computerized printers (Odds ratio = 7.4, 95% CI = 2.59-21.92, P = 0.001). Some (41%) of these subjects did not use gloves and were found to have a statistically significant increased incidence of skin diseases compared with the ones who used gloves (Odds ratio = 4.11, 95% CI = 1.72-13.21, P value = 0.002). Generally, it seems that adequate ventilation and protective gloves are necessary for decreasing the prevalence of occupational skin diseases among photographers. Also, educating the photographers about the risks of the chemical substances in their workplace is very important.
Keywords: Occupational exposure; contact dermatitis; hydroquinone; skin disease.