A COMPARISON OF SKIN DISEASE AMONG NURSING-HOME HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN JAPAN AND KOREA

We conducted a dermatological investigation of health care workers (HCW) from two large nursing homes in Japan and Korea. As a group, the Japanese experienced significantly more skin diseases of any type when compared to the Koreans (27.6% vs. 11.8%, P < 0.05). The former were also at 6.4 times higher skin disease risk (Odds Ratio 6.4, 95%CI 1.3 - 37.0, P < 0.05). Contact dermatitis was the most common dermatologic condition among the Japanese, affecting 17.2%, followed by atopic dermatitis (8.6%) and xerosis (5.2%). Important skin diseases for the Korean group included atopic dermatitis (5.9%), contact dermatitis (3.9%) and scabies (3.9%). In Japan, hands were the most important body site (17.2%). The opposite was true for the Koreans, who suffered no hand involvement at all (P < 0.01). Overall, this study has shown that skin disease appears to be an important concern for nursing home HCW in Japan and Korea. The need for more extensive dermatological research is indicated.