Prevalence and risk factors of hand/wrist/forearm eczema among migrant workers in Qassim, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Purpose: Migrant workers may be vulnerable to occupational hand eczema because of their exposure to skin irritants at the workplace. However, Saudi-specific data is limited. We aimed to estimate the one-year prevalence of hand/wrist/forearm eczema and identify associated factors among migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 2,123 migrant workers from seven occupations (auto repair, city and hospital cleaning, construction, food service, hairdressing, and poultry production). Trained multilingual interviewers administered a structured questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, and health conditions. Hand/wrist/forearm eczema was assessed using the validated Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire-Short Version. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: The mean age of participants was 35 years (SD 9), and 85.3% were men. The one-year prevalence of self-reported hand/wrist/forearm eczema was 4.2%. In the multivariable analyses, women had significantly higher odds of eczema than men (OR 7.7, 95% CI 2.7-21.8). Current smoking (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1-4.8), poor diet (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.3-4.5), and intermediate physical activity (OR 2.3 95% CI 1.2-4.3) were independently associated with eczema. Compared with restaurant workers, city cleaners (OR 10.8), poultry factory workers (OR 9.3), construction workers (OR 6.3), and auto-repair workers (OR 5.8) had substantially higher odds of eczema (p values < 0.05).

Conclusion: Occupation emerged as one of the strong correlates of hand/wrist/forearm eczema. Additionally, modifiable lifestyle (poor diet, smoking, and low physical activity) and female gender were associated with eczema.