MedWire News: Study results suggest that key factors in the pathogenesis of rosacea include having a paler skin type, chronic sun exposure, and an increased mean density of Demodex follliculorum.
Rosacea is a chronic skin disorder, which is characterized by papules, papulopustules, erythema and telangiectasias, and is usually preceded by episodes of flushing.
“The precise etiopathogenesis of rosacea remains unknown and is generally considered to be multifactorial,” explain Elisabeth Lazaridou (Aristotle University Medical School, Thessaloniki, Greece) and colleagues.
To investigate potential factors involved in the pathogensis of rosacea, the team recruited 100 patients with rosacea, as well as 100 healthy individuals matched for age and gender, 100 acne patients, and 50 patients suffering from discoid lupus erythematosus who acted as controls.
The rosacea group comprised 37 men and 63 women who were aged 58 years on average. The researchers found that until the age of 71 years of age 70% more women had rosacea than men, but in those aged 71 years and above 60% more men than women had the condition, suggesting that men may develop the disease at an older age.
According to the Fitzpatrick skin typing system, 4%, 63%, 30%, and 3% of the participants with rosacea were type I, II, III, and IV, respectively.
Lazaridou and co-workers note the significance of skin phototype II in the development of rosacea, as “this is in contrast with the predominant phototypes in the general population in northern Greece, where the vast majority of inhabitants belong to phototypes III–IV.”
Contact with the sun proved to be an important factor with 73% of patients complaining of worsening symptoms following sun exposure.
Of note, low positive results from immunofluorescence tests suggest that an autoimmune role in the development of rosacea is unlikely.
Patients with rosacea were not found to have a higher prevalence of Helicobacter pylori than controls, but the prevalence and mean density of Demodex folliculorum were significantly increased in rosacea patients compared with individuals in all three control groups.
Lazaridou et al conclude in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology: “Many aspects of rosacea require further investigation and more future studies are needed to elucidate the role of certain factors in the pathogenesis of this disease.”
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