Personal care product (PCP)-related contact dermatitis has increased among men and women, according to a study published in the December issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Erin M. Warshaw, M.D., from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues characterized and compared males and females with PCP-related contact dermatitis (MPCPs and FPCPs, respectively) in a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of North American Contact Dermatitis Group data for 1996 to 2016.

The researchers found that 28.8 percent of 16,233 men and 39.5 percent of 32,222 women had a PCP identified as a source of irritant contact dermatitis or a positive patch test reaction. In both sexes, the proportion of PCP-related dermatitis increased significantly over the study duration (>2.7-fold). A larger proportion of MPCPs than FPCPs were older or had trunk or extremity dermatitis. The likelihood of having soaps as a source was increased twofold for MPCPs, while hair care products were twice as likely to be a source for FPCPs. For MPCPs and FPCPs, the most common PCP-related allergens were methylisothiazolinone (28.8 and 21.5 percent, respectively), fragrance mix I (22.3 and 20.1 percent, respectively), balsam of Peru (18.5 and 14.1 percent, respectively), quaternium-15 (16.1 and 12.3 percent, respectively), and paraphenylenediamine (11.5 and 11.1 percent, respectively).

"PCP-related dermatitis has significantly increased in males and females referred for patch testing over the past two decades," the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to Wen by Chaz Dean.

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