Relationship between rosacea and dietary factors: A multicenter retrospective case-control survey

Although patients with rosacea often consult dermatologists for dietary factors that might be related to their skin disorders, few studies have been conducted to research the relationship between rosacea and dietary factors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential relationship between rosacea and diet among the large Chinese population with rosacea, which would provide dietary guidelines for patients with rosacea. A multicenter case-control study was conducted. The feeding frequency 2 years before the occurrence of rosacea was collected by standardized questionnaires. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to calculate risks related to the diet. One thousand three hundred and forty-seven patients with rosacea and 1290 controls were enrolled in our study. We found that high-frequency intake of fatty food and tea presented a positive correlation with rosacea, while high-frequency dairy product intake showed significant negative correlation with rosacea. Sweet food, coffee and spicy food appeared to be independent of any subset of rosacea in our study. However, high-frequency dairy product intake showed a borderline beneficial effect on rosacea severity. We further analyzed the correlation between diet and the subtype of rosacea. We found that high-frequency fatty intake was associated with erythematotelangiectatic rosacea (ETR) and phymatous rosacea, while high-frequency tea intake was only associated with ETR. In addition, high-frequency dairy product intake showed negative correlations with ETR and papulopustular rosacea. Rosacea is associated with some dietary factors, and our study is valuable in establishing dietary guidelines to prevent and improve rosacea.