RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Nickel allergy is associated with wheezing and asthma in a cohort of young German adults: results from the SOLAR study JF ERJ Open Research JO erjor FD European Respiratory Society SP 00178-2019 DO 10.1183/23120541.00178-2019 VO 6 IS 1 A1 Laura Kolberg A1 Felix Forster A1 Jessica Gerlich A1 Gudrun Weinmayr A1 Jon Genuneit A1 Doris Windstetter A1 Christian Vogelberg A1 Erika von Mutius A1 Dennis Nowak A1 Hans Drexler A1 Torsten Schäfer A1 Katja Radon YR 2020 UL http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/6/1/00178-2019.abstract AB Background Nickel allergy is the most prevalent contact allergy. It belongs to a different hypersensitivity type to asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis. The aim of this analysis was to assess whether self-reported nickel allergy is associated with incident wheezing, asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis in young German adults, taking into account potential effect modification by sex.Methods In total, 2051 (70.6%) participants aged 19–24 years took part in the second phase of SOLAR (Study on Occupational Allergy Risks), a follow-up study of ISAAC II (the second phase of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) in Germany. Self-reported nickel allergy, as well as having pierced ears, and the three outcomes incident wheezing, asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis, were analysed stratified for sex. Logistic regression adjusted for potential confounders was performed.Results An association between self-reported nickel allergy and incident wheezing was observed for men and women, while only in males did pierced ears show a significant association with the outcome (adjusted OR 2.26, 95% CI 1.10–4.62). Also only in males, self-reported nickel allergy was associated with elevated odds for incident asthma (adjusted OR 4.34, 95% CI 1.22–15.41). Neither in men nor in women was a significant association observed for incident rhinoconjunctivitis.Conclusion Our results suggest that self-reported nickel allergy is associated with incident wheezing. Whether this association is due to environmental or genetic predisposition, or due to an overlap of the mechanisms of type I and type IV hypersensitivity, needs to be elucidated.Self-reported nickel allergy is associated with incident wheezing in young German males and females, and with incident asthma in males, whereas no significant association was observed for self-reported nickel allergy and incident rhinoconjunctivitis http://bit.ly/2YHmwBA