FS02.5 Nickel allergy and hand eczema – a twenty‐year follow‐up

Aim: To investigate the occurrence of hand eczema after 20 years in schoolgirls previously patch‐tested to nickel. Methods: In 1982–83, 960 schoolgirls, aged 8, 11 and 15 years, were investigated for the occurrence of nickel allergy (Larson‐Stymne B and Widström L, Contact Dermatitis 1985:13:289–293). The girls were patch‐tested and the prevalence of nickel allergy was 9%. Twenty years later, the same individuals have received a questionnaire regarding hand eczema and factors of importance for the development of hand eczema. After two reminders, the response rate was 81%. Results: In total 17.5% of the girls reported hand eczema after the age of 15. The 1‐year prevalence of hand eczema was 12.6%. Of the previously patch‐tested schoolgirls who answered the questionnaire, 63 were sensitive to nickel. In this study, the prevalence of hand eczema among those 63 was 16%, compared to 17% in the non‐sensitive group (NS). Excluding persons with atopic dermatitis, the prevalence of hand eczema was 12.5% in the nickel‐sensitive group, and 10% among the others (NS). 32% of the persons who had had atopic dermatitis reported hand eczema after 15 years of age, compared to 10% of those with no history of atopic dermatitis (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Contact allergy to nickel in early childhood (8–15 years) did not seem to increase the prevalence of hand eczema later in life. The prevalence of hand eczema was increased by a factor of three among those with a history of atopic dermatitis, which is in accordance with earlier reports.