Common Occupational Allergens Affecting Healthcare Workers Identified

Rubber accelerators, surfactants, and preservatives in gloves, soaps, and disinfectants are top culprits behind contact dermatitis in HCPs.

Mar. 17, 2026 at 5:25am

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A retrospective study of over 37,000 patients found that healthcare workers were more likely to have occupational skin disease and hand dermatitis compared to non-healthcare workers. The most common occupational allergens identified were rubber accelerators like carba mix, thiuram mix, and diphenylguanidine found in gloves, as well as surfactants and preservatives in soaps and disinfectants like cocamide diethanolamine, quaternium-15, formaldehyde, and methylisothiazolinone.

Why it matters

Contact dermatitis is a common occupational hazard for healthcare workers, who are frequently exposed to potential allergens through gloves, cleaning products, and other materials. Understanding the most prevalent allergens can help inform prevention strategies and comprehensive testing to mitigate the risk of occupational skin disease in this workforce.

The details

Researchers analyzed data from 37,720 patients who underwent patch testing between 2005-2022, including 2,293 healthcare workers. Healthcare workers were more likely to be women, have hand involvement, and have a history of atopic dermatitis, asthma, and hay fever compared to non-healthcare workers. 68.1% of healthcare workers had at least one positive patch test, with 14.1% of those being occupationally relevant. An additional 5.1% of healthcare workers reacted to occupational allergens not included in the standard screening series.

  • The study analyzed data from 2005 to 2022.

The players

Margo J. Reeder, MD

Lead author of the study and a dermatologist at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

North American Contact Dermatitis Group (NACDG)

A research consortium that maintains a database of patch test results from patients across North America.

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What they’re saying

“Since 5% of [healthcare workers] reacted to occupational allergens/substances not found in screening series, this suggests screening series may miss occupational allergens causing workplace ACD [allergic contact dermatitis], as discussed in other studies.”

— Margo J. Reeder, MD, Lead author (Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology)

“The findings reinforce the need for continued surveillance, prevention strategies, and comprehensive patch testing to mitigate OSD risk among healthcare workers.”

— Margo J. Reeder, MD, Lead author (Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology)

What’s next

The researchers suggest that further studies are needed to identify additional occupational allergens that may be missed by standard screening, in order to develop more comprehensive testing and prevention strategies for healthcare workers.

The takeaway

This study highlights the significant burden of contact dermatitis among healthcare workers and the need for more robust screening, prevention, and treatment approaches to address this occupational health issue.