CONTACT DERMATITIS AND ALLERGY DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2007.08045.x The incidence of occupational skin disease as reported to The Health and Occupation Reporting (THOR) network between 2002 and 2005 S. Turner, M. Carder, M. van Tongeren, R. McNamee,* S. Lines, L. Hussey, A. Bolton, M.H. Beck,  M. Wilkinsonà and R. Agius Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, The University of Manchester, 4th Floor C Block Humanities Devas Street, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, U.K. *Biostatistics Group, School of Medicine, The University of Manchester, 2nd Floor Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K.  Dermatology Centre, Hope Hospital, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Stott Lane, Salford M6 8HD, U.K. àDermatology Department, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds LS1 3EX, U.K. Correspondence Susan Turner. E-mail: susan.m.turner@manchester.ac.uk Accepted for publication 28 February 2007 Key words epidemiology, incidence, occupational dermatitis, surveillance, work Conflicts of interest None declared. Summary Background Estimated incidence rates for occupational skin disease in the U.K. are provided by voluntary surveillance schemes involving dermatologists and occupa- tional physicians. These rates allow monitoring of occupational dermatoses, and intervention planning aimed at reducing workplace risks. Objectives To summarize occupational skin disease reported to The Health and Occupation Reporting (THOR) network (2002–2005), and to provide baseline information for comparison with future studies of occupational skin disease in the U.K. and beyond. Methods Incidence rates for occupational dermatoses were calculated using THOR data as numerators, and Labour Force Survey data or information from the most recent U.K. survey on provision of occupational physician services as denominators. Results In the U.K. (2002–2005) the average annual incidence rate of work-related skin disease reported to THOR by dermatologists was 91Æ3 [95% confidence interval (CI) 81Æ8–101Æ1] per million, and by occupational physicians was 316Æ6 (95% CI 251Æ8–381Æ3) per million. Most reports were of contact dermatitis: dermatologists 68Æ0 (95% CI 59Æ8–76Æ2) per million, occupational physicians 259Æ7 (95% CI 200Æ8–318Æ6) per million. Conclusions Information produced by THOR is an important source for calculating incidence rates of occupational skin disease. A range of reporting groups should also be used when building an overall picture of occupational skin disease incidence in the U.K. In 2004–2005, an estimated 29 000 (95% confidence interval 21 000–37 000) people in Great Britain had self-reported skin problems that were caused or made worse by their cur- rent or past work. 1 These prevalence data are from the 2004 ⁄ 05 Self-reported Work-related Illness Survey, which reports information that is subjective, and dependent on the perceptions and beliefs of the sufferer. In comparison, disease incidence data are reliant on sources such as voluntary surveil- lance schemes for occupationally related ill-health, which are based on medical reports. In the U.K. such schemes include The Health and Occupation Reporting (THOR) network, which was established in 2002. 2 In THOR, occupational skin disease is reported to EPIDERM by dermatologists (occupa- tional skin surveillance by dermatologists) and by occupational physicians to the occupational physicians reporting activity (OPRA). Occupational physicians also report nonskin-related occupational disease (as do other clinical specialists) to sister schemes within THOR. From 1996 to 2001 the estimated average annual inci- dence rate of work-related skin disease reported to EPI- DERM was 97 per million, and to OPRA was 623 per million. 3 These early data were reported to THOR’s pre- decessor, the Occupational Disease Intelligence Network (ODIN), which received 8559 case reports resulting in Ó 2007 The Authors Journal Compilation Ó 2007 British Association of Dermatologists • British Journal of Dermatology 2007 157, pp713–722 713