Obesity Raises Risk for Rosacea in Women

Women with obesity have an increased risk for rosacea, according to a recent study.

Currently, little data exists about the relationship between obesity and rosacea. To explore this potential relationship further, the researchers evaluated data on 89,886 women who had participated in the 1991-2005 Nurses’ Health Study II. Follow-up lasted 14 years.
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Information about patients’ history of clinician-diagnosed rosacea as well as year of diagnosis was collected in 2005.

Results showed that 5249 incident cases of rosacea had developed throughout follow-up. Ultimately, the researchers found that individuals with an elevated body mass index (BMI) had a higher risk for rosacea. The hazard ratio (HR) of rosacea was 1.48 for individuals with a BMI of at least 35.0 kg/m², compared with those with a BMI of 21.0 kg/m² to 22.9 kg/m².

The researchers observed a trend toward a higher risk for rosacea among individuals who had gained weight after age 18 years (HR 1.04 per 10-lb weight gain). Furthermore, the risk for rosacea was also significantly higher among individuals with a higher waist circumference and hip circumference. These associations were independent of BMI, the researchers noted.

“Measures of obesity were significantly associated with an increased risk for incident rosacea,” the researchers concluded.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Li S, Cho E, Drucker AM, Qureshi AA, Li WQ. Obesity and risk for incident rosacea in US women. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2017;77(6):1083-1087.e5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2017.08.032.