Rosacea linked to various comorbid conditions

(HealthDay)—Rosacea is associated with various comorbid conditions, including, but not limited to, allergies, respiratory diseases, and gastrointestinal diseases, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Barbara M. Rainer, M.D., from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a case-control study to examine the correlation between rosacea and systemic comorbidities and whether the severity of rosacea is affected by these comorbidities. Participants included 65 patients with rosacea matched to 65 rosacea-free controls by age, sex, and race.

Among the participants, the researchers observed a significant correlation between rosacea and allergies (airborne, food), respiratory disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, other gastrointestinal disease, hypertension, metabolic and urogenital diseases, and female hormone imbalance. There were significant correlations for moderate to severe rosacea with hyperlipidemia, hypertension, metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and gastroesophageal reflux disease, compared with mild rosacea.

"Rosacea is associated with numerous systemic comorbid diseases in a skin severity-dependent manner," the authors write. "Associated medical conditions were self-reported and could not always be confirmed by medication use and medical records."

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