Cardiovascular comorbidities in patients with rosacea: A nationwide case-control study from Taiwan

Background Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. Inflammation plays a prominent role in atherosclerosis and its complications. Objective We sought to investigate the associations of rosacea with cardiovascular disease risk factors and cardiovascular diseases from a nationwide population-based database. Methods A total of 33,553 patients with rosacea and 67,106 age- and gender-matched control subjects were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan from 1997 to 2010. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to compare the odds of comorbidities between the 2 groups. Results Dyslipidemia (odds ratio 1.41; 95% confidence interval 1.36-1.46), coronary artery disease (odds ratio 1.35, 95% confidence interval 1.29-1.41), and hypertension (odds ratio 1.17, 95% confidence interval 1.12-1.21) were significantly associated with rosacea. Coronary artery disease remained independently associated with rosacea after adjustment for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. Male patients with rosacea had higher risks for all comorbidities than female patients with rosacea. Limitations The National Health Insurance Research Database does not contain information regarding rosacea subtypes or disease severity, or laboratory data. Conclusion Patients with rosacea are more likely to have dyslipidemia and hypertension. They are also at increased risk of coronary artery disease after adjustment for cardiovascular disease risk factors.