Assessing the relationship between contact sensitization and eczema in adolescents and adults on the example of nickel and neomycin: preliminary results of a meta-analysis of epidemiological data

Data from patch test studies carried out in Denmark, Germany, Italy, North America
and Poland have met the inclusion criteria. In case of nickel, the eOR calculated
based upon these data varied greatly from 0.8 in Denmark (eAR= –1,6%; weak protective
effect) to eOR=46.8 in Italy (eAR=50.4%; very strong relationship between nickel sensitization
and eczema). For neomycin, the results seemed more consistent with regard to the direction
of the relationship, with eOR ranging from 2.5 (eAR=2.1%) in Germany to infinity (sensitization
to neomycin observed only among people with eczema, eAR=3.2%) in Poland. The major
obstacle in constructing the eOR and eAR models consists of the scarcity of patch
tests results for the general population, and the difficulty of matching the few available
studies with data from clinical studies that would fit with regard to the geographical
location, year of performing the studies, demographics of the group, and patch test
protocol.