[Contact sensitivity to cosmetics in an unselected Danish population. The Glostrup Allergy Study, Denmark]

The study evaluated sensitization to cosmetic ingredients in an unselected population. A questionnaire and ready-to-apply patch tests (TRUE-Test) were mailed to 793 subjects, aged 15 to 69 years, and 567 (71.5 p. 100) were patch tested. The tests were read two days after application. The frequency of sensitization to the cosmetic ingredients in the TRUE-Test varied from 0.0 p. 100 to 1.1 p. 100. Sensitization to one or more substances was diagnosed in 3.2 p. 100 of the males and in 4.2 p. 100 of the females. Old age was associated with an insignificantly higher probability of sensitization (p = 0.06). When adjusted for sex and age, the probability of sensitization was increased by a factor 2.3 among those reporting a history of cosmetic-related skin symptoms as compared to those who did not (p = 0.08). Among males, current daily use of cosmetics was less probable among older than among younger men, and independently of this less probable among those sensitized than among those not sensitized (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.02, respectively). Contact sensitization to cosmetic ingredients was relatively frequent in the general population. Sex was not an important risk factor to sensitization, whereas old age was associated with an insignificantly increased risk of sensitization.