The association between wet work and hand eczema in the Dutch general population: Application of a job exposure matrix to the lifelines cohort study

Background Studies on wet work and hand eczema (HE) frequently rely solely on self‐reports regarding wet work. Objectives To assess the association between wet work and moderate‐to‐very‐severe HE, within the Dutch general population, by using a (sex‐specific) job exposure matrix (JEM). Methods Within the Lifelines Cohort Study, participants with self‐reported moderate‐to‐very‐severe HE at worst in the past year were linked to data from the Danish (sex‐specific) wet work JEM, a tool that links occupations with wet work indices (including duration and probability of glove use, wet hands and total wet work for at least 2 and 4 h/working day). Results In total, 56 978 (41.9%) participants were included. The multivariate binary logistic regression analyses showed significant associations between all facets of wet work and moderate‐to‐very‐severe HE. When using the sex‐specific JEM, significant associations were found in females, but not in males. Conclusions This study is the first to use a wet work‐specific JEM in a general population sample, and found positive associations between wet work and HE. The sex‐specific findings should be interpreted with caution, due to limitations inherent in using a JEM, and should be further explored with observational studies, with a focus on duration, frequency, and exposure type. Studies on wet work and hand eczema frequently rely solely on self‐reports regarding wet work. This cross‐sectional general population‐based study used a wet work job exposure matrix (JEM) and found a positive association between wet work (including glove use, wet hands, and total wet work for at least 2 and 4 h per day) and self‐reported moderate‐to‐very‐severe hand eczema at worst in the past year. When using the sex‐specific wet work JEM, positive associations between wet work and hand eczema were found in females but not in males, though this finding should be interpreted with caution due to the limitations inherent in using a JEM.