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Severe centrofacial erythema associated with rosacea substantially affects patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL), a study in Dermatology and Therapy suggests.
Adult patients who reported a physician diagnosis of rosacea were enrolled in a cross-sectional, web-based survey (n=708). Participants had evaluated their own current erythema as mild (59.2%), moderate (33.2%), or severe (7.6%) using the validated Subject Self-Assessment for Rosacea Facial Redness. Clinical characteristics and rosacea symptoms were evaluated with their impacts on HRQoL using the Dermatology Life Quality Index, and general QoL was evaluated using the validated Impact Assessment for Rosacea Facial Redness.
According to the survey, participants first became aware of rosacea symptoms at a mean age of 36.6 years (range, 3-74 years). At survey completion, the mean time since diagnosis of rosacea was 11.9 years. Persistent facial erythema and blushing/flushing were the most bothersome symptoms, reported by 69.2% and 60.9% of participants, respectively. The mean Dermatology Life Quality Index scores increased with severity of erythema (mild [3.8] vs moderate [5.7] vs severe [13.4]; P <.0001), suggesting erythema severity has a substantial affect on HRQoL in patients with rosacea.
Limitations of the study were the reliance on self-reported measures of clinical and diagnostic information as well as the limited number of respondents with mild erythema severity.
“These findings may provide insight and guidance to encourage physicians to consider QoL outcomes when treating patients with rosacea,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: Several study authors declared affiliations with the pharmaceutical industry. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures.
Reference
Baldwin HE, Harper J, Baradaran S, Patel V. Erythema of rosacea affects health-related quality of life: results of a survey conducted in collaboration with the National Rosacea Society [published online September 11, 2019]. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). doi:10.1007/s13555-019-00322-5
