Korean J Dermatol.  2021 Aug;59(7):534-537.

A Study on Leather in Korea as a Cause of Cobalt Allergic Contact Dermatitis

• Kwon ES
• Kim HH
• Lim JS
• Myung KB
• Cheong SH

Abstract

Background
Cobalt is an important contact allergen and is contained mainly in metal products. Recent studies have reported an association between leather exposure and cobalt allergic contact dermatitis. However, there is no study on this subject in Korea.
Objective
The aim of this study is to examine cobalt content and release from leather sofas, shoes, watch straps, and gloves sold in Korea, and to investigate leather exposure in cobalt allergic contact dermatitis.
Methods
We collected 38 leather samples of leather sofa, 15 leather shoes, 8 leather watch straps, and 10 leather gloves sold in Korea. The cobalt spot test and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry were used to confirm cobalt content and release from leather samples.
Results
All 71 leather samples were negative for cobalt in the spot test. No cobalt was found in the 35 leathers tested by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry.
Conclusion
Unlike previous studies, cobalt was not identified in leather in this study. Therefore, the possibility of cobalt allergic contact dermatitis caused by leather is relatively low in Korea. However, further studies with larger numbers of leather samples are needed to obtain more accurate results.

Keyword

Allergic contact dermatitis; Cobalt; Leather