Nickel sensitivity and the course of atopic dermatitis in adulthood.

The course of dermatitis was followed in nickel-sensitive and nickel-negative atopic and non-atopic patients. Manifest dermatitis was seen in 70% of the nickel-allergic and in 64% of the nickel-negative female atopic dermatitis (AD) patients. Those atopic subjects who had minor symptoms in their teens suffered more from dermatitis if they had developed nickel allergy (p<0.025). Hands and the head region were the most common sites for current dermatitis in both groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]