Self-reported skin problems and the healthy worker effect in the general working population of Norway: a three-year prospective study

Objectives: This study aimed to assess whether the occurrence of skin problems in 2006 (baseline) was associated with response frequency, quitting a job due to health problems, and change in occupational skin exposures in 2009. Methods: We conducted a three-year prospective study of the general working population of Norway. Associations between baseline indicators (sex, age, education, occupation), and occurrence of skin problems with response frequency at follow-up were assessed with Chi-square test and unconditional logistic regression. Associations between the occurrence of skin problems at baseline with quitting a job due to health problems and skin exposure at follow-up were also assessed with unconditional logistic regression. Results: We found no evidence of an association between the occurrence of skin problems at baseline and a lower response frequency at follow-up. Age, sex, education, and occupation were the most important predictors for response at follow-up. Skin problems at baseline consistently predicted quitting a job due to health problems at follow-up. No evidence of change in the patterns of occupational skin exposures at follow up in 2009 was found for workers reporting skin problems in 2006. Conclusion: While skin problems at baseline were not related to a lower response frequency at follow-up, our results...