Subtopic Deep Dive
Allergic Contact Dermatitis Epidemiology
Research Guide
What is Allergic Contact Dermatitis Epidemiology?
Allergic Contact Dermatitis Epidemiology studies the prevalence, incidence, regional variations, and risk factors of allergic contact dermatitis in general and selected populations using patch testing data.
Key reviews establish median contact allergy prevalence at 20.1% in adults and 14.5% in children (Thyssen et al., 2007; 662 citations; Alinaghi et al., 2018; 345 citations). Studies highlight nickel as the most common allergen, affecting up to 17% of women (Thyssen and Menné, 2009; 385 citations). Patch test databases like NACDG reveal occupational and temporal trends in allergen sensitization.
Why It Matters
Population prevalence data from Thyssen et al. (2007) informs public health policies for allergen regulation, reducing nickel exposure in consumer products across Europe. Alinaghi et al. (2018) meta-analysis guides dermatological surveillance systems, identifying fragrance and metal sensitizers for targeted interventions. Occupational risk insights from Thyssen and Menné (2009) support workplace guidelines, lowering dermatitis incidence in high-risk groups like healthcare workers.
Key Research Challenges
Heterogeneous Prevalence Estimates
Studies vary in patch test methodologies and populations, complicating meta-analyses (Alinaghi et al., 2018). Thyssen et al. (2007) note median prevalences but highlight subgroup differences. Standardization of testing protocols remains unresolved.
Regional Allergen Variations
Allergen profiles differ by geography due to exposure patterns (Thyssen and Menné, 2009). Nickel dominates in women across regions, but fragrances vary (de Groot and Frosch, 1997). Cross-country comparisons lack unified databases.
Occupational Risk Quantification
Patch test data underrepresent occupational cohorts (Peiser et al., 2011). Thyssen et al. (2007) identify trends but call for prospective studies. Longitudinal incidence tracking is limited.
Essential Papers
Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy in the United States: Summary of the NIAID-Sponsored Expert Panel Report
Joshua A. Boyce, Amal Assa’ad, A. Wesley Burks et al. · 2010 · Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2.3K citations
Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy in the United States: Report of the NIAID-Sponsored Expert Panel
Unknown, Joshua A Boyce, Amal Assa'ad et al. · 2010 · Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 1.2K citations
The epidemiology of contact allergy in the general population – prevalence and main findings
Jacob P. Thyssen, Allan Linneberg, Torkil Menné et al. · 2007 · Contact Dermatitis · 662 citations
A substantial number of studies have investigated the prevalence of contact allergy in the general population and in unselected subgroups of the general population. The aim of this review was to de...
Adult eczema prevalence and associations with asthma and other health and demographic factors: A US population–based study
Jonathan I. Silverberg, Jon M. Hanifin · 2013 · Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 594 citations
Metal Allergy—A Review on Exposures, Penetration, Genetics, Prevalence, and Clinical Implications
Jacob P. Thyssen, Torkil Menné · 2009 · Chemical Research in Toxicology · 385 citations
The prevalence of metal allergy is high in the general population, and it is estimated that up to 17% of women and 3% of men are allergic to nickel and that 1-3% are allergic to cobalt and chromium...
Allergic contact dermatitis: epidemiology, molecular mechanisms, in vitro methods and regulatory aspects
Matthias Peiser, Tewes Tralau, Jochen Heidler et al. · 2011 · Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences · 350 citations
Prevalence of contact allergy in the general population: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Farzad Alinaghi, Niels H. Bennike, Alexander Egeberg et al. · 2018 · Contact Dermatitis · 345 citations
Background Contact allergy and allergic contact dermatitis are frequent conditions in the general population. Objectives To provide an updated estimate of the prevalence of contact allergy in the g...
Reading Guide
Foundational Papers
Start with Thyssen et al. (2007; 662 citations) for median prevalence benchmarks, then Thyssen and Menné (2009; 385 citations) for metal allergen details establishing core epidemiology.
Recent Advances
Alinaghi et al. (2018; 345 citations) provides updated meta-analysis; Rundle et al. (2020; 279 citations) covers COVID-19 hygiene impacts on hand dermatitis.
Core Methods
Patch testing per ICDRG standards, population surveys, and meta-regression for prevalence pooling (Thyssen et al., 2007; Alinaghi et al., 2018).
How PapersFlow Helps You Research Allergic Contact Dermatitis Epidemiology
Discover & Search
Research Agent uses searchPapers and exaSearch to query 'allergic contact dermatitis prevalence meta-analysis', retrieving Alinaghi et al. (2018) and Thyssen et al. (2007). citationGraph visualizes citation networks linking metal allergy papers like Thyssen and Menné (2009). findSimilarPapers expands to regional studies from 250M+ OpenAlex papers.
Analyze & Verify
Analysis Agent employs readPaperContent on Thyssen et al. (2007) to extract prevalence medians, then verifyResponse with CoVe checks claims against Alinaghi et al. (2018). runPythonAnalysis with pandas aggregates prevalence data across papers for statistical verification. GRADE grading assesses evidence quality for meta-analyses.
Synthesize & Write
Synthesis Agent detects gaps in occupational epidemiology from Thyssen and Menné (2009), flagging contradictions in nickel prevalence. Writing Agent uses latexEditText and latexSyncCitations to draft LaTeX reviews citing 10+ papers, with latexCompile for PDF output. exportMermaid generates flowcharts of allergen exposure pathways.
Use Cases
"Analyze prevalence trends of nickel allergy from 2000-2020 using paper data."
Research Agent → searchPapers → Analysis Agent → runPythonAnalysis (pandas time-series plot of prevalences from Thyssen 2009, Alinaghi 2018) → matplotlib graph of declining trends.
"What are regional variations in contact allergen prevalence?"
Research Agent → exaSearch + citationGraph → Synthesis Agent → gap detection → Writing Agent → latexEditText + latexSyncCitations + latexCompile → LaTeX table comparing Europe vs. US from Thyssen 2007.
"Find code for analyzing patch test databases."
Research Agent → paperExtractUrls on epidemiology papers → Code Discovery → paperFindGithubRepo → githubRepoInspect → exportCsv of prevalence stats scripts linked to Thyssen studies.
Automated Workflows
Deep Research workflow conducts systematic review: searchPapers (50+ papers on ACD epidemiology) → citationGraph → DeepScan (7-step verification with CoVe on Thyssen 2007 medians) → structured report with GRADE scores. DeepScan analyzes Alinaghi 2018 meta-analysis: readPaperContent → runPythonAnalysis (meta-regression) → checkpoints. Theorizer generates hypotheses on fragrance trends from de Groot 1997.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the definition of allergic contact dermatitis epidemiology?
It examines prevalence, incidence, and trends of allergic contact dermatitis via patch tests in populations, as reviewed by Thyssen et al. (2007).
What are key methods used?
Patch testing in general populations and meta-analyses of prevalence data, with median 20.1% in adults (Alinaghi et al., 2018; Thyssen et al., 2007).
What are foundational papers?
Thyssen et al. (2007; 662 citations) on general population epidemiology; Thyssen and Menné (2009; 385 citations) on metal allergy prevalence.
What are open problems?
Standardizing patch tests across regions and tracking longitudinal occupational risks remain challenges (Peiser et al., 2011; Alinaghi et al., 2018).
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Part of the Contact Dermatitis and Allergies Research Guide