BACKGROUND: With increasing
industrialization , the
construction industry provides
employment to a large number of skilled and nonskilled
workers , many of them
migrant workers .
AIM: This study was undertaken to provide epidemiological data regarding various
dermatoses among
migrant construction workers in
India as currently there is a paucity of the same.
METHODS: One thousand
construction workers , including 467
migrant laborers, were examined for various
dermatoses .
RESULTS: Most (88%)
workers were
males and 51.17% were in their third decade. Infective and noninfective
dermatoses were seen in 89.72% and 53.74% of laborers respectively. Among infective
dermatoses ,
fungal infections were the most common (46.25%) ones, followed by
bacterial infections (24.83%),
scabies (8.56%) and
viral infections (6.42%).
Contact dermatitis to cement was seen in 12.48% of the laborers. Masons had a significantly higher
incidence of
contact dermatitis to cement,
viral infections and
scabies than helpers.
CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of
dermatoses is an expression of
poverty , overcrowding and the
occupational hazards of the
construction industry .