Prevalence of occupational acne in healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic: systematic review

Objective  To estimate the prevalence of occupational acne associated with the use of N95, FFP2 or FFP3 masks by health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods  A systematic review of prevalence studies, guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute’s evidence synthesis manual. The searches were carried out between April and June 2024 in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, SciELO, and Scopus databases, published between 2020 and the months in which the search strategy was conducted. The combined prevalence was calculated from the individual results of the studies.

Results  13 studies were selected, in which 3,959 health professionals participated. 864 cases of occupational acne were identified, resulting in a combined prevalence of 21.8%. Higher prevalences were observed in females and in those who wore masks for a long time. The data, obtained mainly through non-validated questionnaires and applied digitally, showed heterogeneity.

Conclusion  Occupational acne induced by the use of respirator masks is a relevant occupational risk, affecting over one fifth of healthcare professionals that participated in the included studies. Considering the pandemic context, prevalence may have been underestimated due to difficulties in recording cases.

Keywords:
Acne; N95 Respirators; Occupational Dermatosis; Health Professionals; COVID-19; Occupational Health