BACKGROUND: In 2012, Danish authorities submitted a proposal to the European Chemical Agency restricting the content of hexavalent chromium to a maximum of 3 ppm in leather goods. Following its adoption, this proposal was implemented in 2015 as a directive in the EU. OBJECTIVES: To examine the temporal trend of chromium contact allergy in adult dermatitis patients patch tested between 2002 and 2017, and to determine clinical characteristics and causative exposures in these patients. METHODS: All adult dermatitis patients patch tested between 2002 and 2017 were included. Patch test data were reviewed retrospectively. Comparisons were performed with the χ 2 test and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 13 379 adults aged 18 to 99 years were patch tested between 2002 and 2017. The overall prevalence of chromium allergy was 2.2%. An overall decreasing trend was found for the prevalence of chromium allergy (Ptrend = 0.00002). Specifically, a significant difference was found for the study periods 2010 to 2013 (Ptrend = 0.002) and 2014 to 2017 (Ptrend < 0.0001) as compared with 2002 to 2005. Leather remained the most important single cause of allergic contact dermatitis caused by chromium. The proportion of clinically relevant leather exposures increased from 42.3% during 2002 to 2009 to 54.8% during 2010 to 2017 (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of chromium allergy is decreasing. The EU Directive restricting the use of hexavalent chromium in leather goods is thought to be playing a central role in this change.
BACKGROUND: In 2012, Danish authorities submitted a proposal to the European Chemical Agency restricting the content of hexavalent chromium to a maximum of 3 ppm in leather goods. Following its adoption, this proposal was implemented in 2015 as a directive in the EU. OBJECTIVES: To examine the temporal trend of chromium contact allergy in adult dermatitispatients patch tested between 2002 and 2017, and to determine clinical characteristics and causative exposures in these patients. METHODS: All adult dermatitispatients patch tested between 2002 and 2017 were included. Patch test data were reviewed retrospectively. Comparisons were performed with the χ 2 test and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 13 379 adults aged 18 to 99 years were patch tested between 2002 and 2017. The overall prevalence of chromiumallergy was 2.2%. An overall decreasing trend was found for the prevalence of chromiumallergy (Ptrend = 0.00002). Specifically, a significant difference was found for the study periods 2010 to 2013 (Ptrend = 0.002) and 2014 to 2017 (Ptrend < 0.0001) as compared with 2002 to 2005. Leather remained the most important single cause of allergic contact dermatitis caused by chromium. The proportion of clinically relevant leather exposures increased from 42.3% during 2002 to 2009 to 54.8% during 2010 to 2017 (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of chromiumallergy is decreasing. The EU Directive restricting the use of hexavalent chromium in leather goods is thought to be playing a central role in this change.
Authors: Wolfgang Uter; Thomas Werfel; Jean-Pierre Lepoittevin; Ian R White Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-04-01 Impact factor: 3.390