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Abstract The relationships between indoor environment factors and signs of eye irritation were studied in a sample of female personnel with tn- 112) and without (n =64) mucous membrane symptoms working in 36 nursing departments at geriatric hospitals in the municipality of Trondheim, Norway. The indoor climate was characterised by high room temperature (interquartile range 23.023.7°C), low relative air humidity (interquartile range 17-26%} and high outdoor airflow rate, as indicated by low indoor levels of car bon dioxide (interquartile range 490--650 ppm). An altered microbial flora was observed in nine of the departments, and Aspergillus fumigatus was found in three of these. Five of the hospitals were situated in urban parts of the municipality near roads with heavy traffic. In the initial analyses decreased tear-film stability (BUT) was observed in subjects working in departments with increased dust settlement rate (P- 0.03), in hospitals situated in urban areas with heavy traffic (P<0,001), and in subjects working in departments with presence of A. fumigatus (P=0.04), Increased conjunctival staining (CS) was related to alteration of the microbial flora. In the final multivariate analyses statistically significant relationships were observed between BUT and dust settlement rate and urban vicinity of workplace and between CS and alteration of the microbial flora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ship's engineers are exposed to mineral oil and solvents in their work. This study was intended to investigate if ship's engineers had an increased prevalence of skin disorders and whether any such increased risk could be linked to exposure to mineral oils and solvents. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to 700 male seamen from 3 Norwegian ferry companies. Of the 492 respondents, 169 were currently working as ship's engineers and 295 had never worked as ship's engineers. The outcomes eczema acne, dry skin, any dermatitis and hand dermatitis were defined from the questionnaire. Prevalences of these skin disorders were compared between the groups. Logistic regression was used to elucidate explanatory variables further. When comparing current ships engineers with those who had never worked as ship's engineers, the crude prevalence ratios were 1.7 (95%, CI-1.1-2.7) for dry skin, 1.7 (95%, CI-1.1-2.5) for any dermatitis, 1.3 (95% CI-0.66-2.67) for acne and 1.2 (CI-0.61-2.27) for eczema. The risk of these symptoms increased for the engineers in the regression analysis, after controlling for age, self-reported use of Stoddard solvent, any the use of fuel oil as a hand cleansing agent. The increased prevalence of skin disorders found among ship's engineers in this investigation may be explained by direct contact with mineral oils and solvents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]