A survey of members of the European Surveillance System on Contact Allergy and the EU project “StanDerm” to identify allergens tested in cosmetic series across Europe

Abstract

Background: There is currently no agreed cosmetic series for use across Europe.Objectives: To establish allergens currently tested in local and national cosmetic series.Method: Members of the European Surveillance System on Contact Allergy and the European Cooperation in Science and Technology project TD1206 ("StanDerm") were surveyed to establish their current practice.Results: A wide range of allergens was tested but there was significant variation between centres on the allergens considered to be important in screening for allergy to cosmetics.The number of allergens tested in addition to the baseline series varied between 2 and 50.Conclusions: There is a need for further investigation to establish the frequency and relevance of reactions to cosmetic allergens to enable an agreed evidence-based cosmetic series to be produced. Criteria for inclusion need to be established. K E Y W O R D Sallergic contact dermatitis, cosmetic, diagnosis

Developing a cosmetic series: Results from the ESSCA network, 2009‐2018

“…They concluded that vitamin E was a relatively rare contact allergen. Five centres across Europe test for tocopheryl acetate in local cosmetic series 6 . A low prevalence of positive reactions was demonstrated from recent ESSCA records (0.02% amongst a total of 4746 patients).…”

“…Disodium EDTA is a chelating agent used ubiquitously in many products including cosmetics and sunscreens. It is tested in local cosmetic series in centres across Europe and is part of a national cosmetic series in the UK 6 . It is a known contact allergen 20‐23 .…”

“…There are very few case reports in the literature of contact allergy with BHT in cosmetics. Eight countries in Europe report testing for this in either national cosmetic, local cosmetic, or local baseline series 6 . ESSCA data analysis from six countries demonstrates a 0.13% share of positive patch test reactions to BHT (n = 29 716 tested).…”

“…While trends, geographical differences and subgroup analyses with the allergens of the (European) baseline series have been a prior focus, another previous analysis has addressed patch testing beyond the baseline series, namely, by analysing results with a “rubber series.” 3‐5 Following this example, the present analysis included allergens which are part of various “cosmetic series” from centres in the European Surveillance System on Contact Allergies (ESSCA) 6 …”

“…In addition, recent results suggest that frequently tested cosmetic allergens have a low yield of positive reactions or are of historical interest only 7 . There is a need to develop an evidence‐based cosmetic series to standardize the set of test substances, thereby improving diagnosis whilst maintaining cost effectiveness 6 …”