ISSN:
1600-0536
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
The existence of seasonal patterns to patch test reactions has been described, but with conflicting causal interpretations. The potential seasonality of patch tests may be due to irritation, changes to skin barrier or changes to immunological functions caused by meteorological fluctuations. For example, increased skin irritability due to cold winter weather and low humidity may cause an increase in irritative/doubtful and weak positive (false positive) reactions. To investigate the extent of the association between weather and patch test results, consecutive patients (N = 73691) patch tested with the standard series of the German Contact Dermatitis Research Group (DKG) at German or Austrian IVDK () centres were matched with weather data collected at a nearby (30 km radius) weather station. Temperature and absolute humidity (AH) on the day of patch test application and the two preceding days were averaged to represent the environment most likely to have influenced the skin condition at the time of testing. The results of 24 standard series substances were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression. Half of the standard series substances examined, including fragrance mix, nickel sulphate, and formaldehyde, exhibited evidence of a relationship with meteorological conditions. Fragrance mix and p-Phenylene diamine exhibited the strongest evidence of an association to weather, with the odds of the reactions in all three reaction categories (ir/?, +, ++/+++) increasing during winter conditions. Due to the association between weather and patch test reactivity, the potential effect of meteorological conditions should be considered in the interpretation of patch test reactions.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0105-1873.2004.0309ba.x
