Hairdressers at Risk of Respiratory Disease

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NEW YORK - Bleaching agents widely used in hair salons put hair stylists at

risk of asthma and inflammation of the eyes, nose and throat, researchers

report in the medical journal Chest.

" In the last years I have seen several cases of occupational asthma in

hairdressers, and this observation has prompted me to start a specific study in

this category of workers, " Dr. Gianna Moscato, Head of the Allergy and

Immunology Unit at the Scientific Institute of Pavia in Italy told Reuters

Health.

Between 1996 and 2004, Moscato and her colleagues enrolled 47 hairdressers

who had been exposed to bleaching agents for an average of about 7 years, and

who had come to their institute with complaints of respiratory and skin

problems. The researchers performed allergy tests and studied lung function in

these patients.

They found that more than half of the patients (about 51 percent) had

occupational asthma and that in 87.5 percent of all asthma patients the

condition

was due to persulfate salts, a type of chemical widely used as a bleaching

agent. Of the remaining patients diagnosed with asthma, the condition was

associated with exposure to permanent hair dyes in about 8 percent and to latex

in

about 4 percent.

In addition, more than half of the patients diagnosed with asthma (about 54

percent) were also diagnosed with occupational rhinitis -- inflammation of

the eyes, nose and throat -- that was due to persulfate salts in 84.5 percent

of the cases. Finally, about 36 percent of all hairdressers seen at the

institute were diagnosed with occupational dermatitis.

" We have described the largest population of hairdressers with documented

occupational asthma and rhinitis published to date, " Moscato said. " The agents

most frequently involved are persulfates salts, and that besides the well

described cutaneous occupational risk, these workers are also at high risk to

develop occupational asthma. "

Moscato and her colleagues are now working to promote preventive programs

for hairdressers that will include environmental measures and specific

respiratory surveillance programs.

SOURCE: Chest, November 2005

Story by Graciela Flores

Story 17/11/2005