Sensitization to nickel in the Triveneto region: Temporal trend after European Union regulations.

Keywords: epidemiology; EU directive; nickel patch test EN epidemiology EU directive nickel patch test 247 250 4 03/23/20 20200401 NES 200401 Highlights After the introduction of the EU regulatory interventions, nickel sensitization decreased significantly in the group of females aged <=25 years. Nickel sensitization significantly decreased only in young women (<= 25 years) while nickel sensitization increased in the middle-aged category (36-65 years) (Table). The low prevalence of sensitization to nickel can be considered as the first noticeable effect of the EU directive, reducing nickel exposure and subsequent sensitization in young women. Moreover, the higher percentages of nickel sensitization in middle-aged Italian women is possibly related to higher nickel exposure due to the late implementation of the EU directive 94/27/CE. [Extracted from the article]