The National Institute of Occupational Health (STAMI) and the hospital departments for occupational medicine started a shared and anonymous patient register in 2009. The report defines the diagnoses, occupations and factors of exposure that frequently occur in the youngest patient group. This report can reveal exposures in modern working life specifically, and accordingly can produce significant understanding to target prevention efforts.

A descriptive analysis of 910 investigations of patients in the age group 20-29 years were undertaken and performed in occupational medicine departments in Norway from 2010-17. Analyses of patients aged 20-29 years accounted for 914 (8%) from a total of 11,969 recorded patient investigations. Four participants were excluded. The mentioned age group comprised 498 (55%) men, as compared to 75% men in the overall dataset. The most common diagnoses were asthma (187/910, 21%), contact eczema (184/910, 20%) and rhinitis (73/910, 8%). The most recurrent factors of exposure were irritants/allergens (469/910, 52%). The most common occupations were of hairdresser (159/910, 17%) and painter or varnisher (46/910, 5%). Among women, hairdresser was the predominant occupation (154/412, 37%), whereas painter/varnisher (35/498, 7%) and electrician (25/498, 5%) were the predominant occupations among men.

The analysis interpreted that young patients examined in occupational medicine departments are more commonly registered with asthma or hand eczema. Hairdressers are particularly exposed, thus signifying a special requirement for primary prevention in this occupation for preventing the development of disease. Therefore, in cases of asthma and hand eczema, doctors should be aware of the likelihood that it could be occupation related.

Source: Aarhus L, Mehlum IS. Examination of work-related diseases among young people in Norway. Utredning av unge med arbeidsrelatert sykdom. Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 2019;139(12):10.4045/tidsskr.19.0187. Published 2019 Aug 27. doi:10.4045/tidsskr.19.0187