BACKGROUND: Contact dermatitis is a frequent occupational and non-occupational skin disease.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of contact dermatitis on labour market affiliation and societal costs in terms of healthcare costs and production loss.

METHODS: A total of 21 441 patients patch tested either in hospital departments or at dermatological clinics in the period 2004-2009 were included in the study. The analyses were stratified by children (age 0-15 years), occupational contact dermatitis (age 16-65 years), and non-occupational dermatitis (age ≥ 16 years). Controls were selected from a 30% random sample of the population. Individual encrypted data were retrieved on healthcare utilization, socio-demographics, education, labour market affiliation and transfer payments from public registers in Denmark for cases and controls.

RESULTS: Attributable healthcare costs for 4 years prior to patch testing (1 year for children) and the year after patch testing were €959 for children, €724 for occupational contact dermatitis, and €1794 for non-occupational dermatitis. Productivity costs for the same period were €10 722 for occupational contact dermatitis and €3074 for non-occupational contact dermatitis.

CONCLUSIONS: The main findings of this study were that there were statistically significant attributable healthcare costs for both children and adults, and statistically significant productivity loss for adults.