Rate of Hypothyroidism is High in Patients With Rosacea

Rates of hypothyroidism are higher in patients with rosacea compared with a control group, according to a recent study published in Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia.

“The authors hypothesized that shared pathogenic mechanisms can provide a link between rosacea and thyroid disorders and thus, the authors aimed to investigate whether there is a relationship between thyroid disorders (hypo- and hyperthyroidism) and rosacea,” explained the study authors.

Researchers performed a large case-control study on 2091 patients with rosacea (1546 women, 545 men; mean age 48.73 ± 14.53 years) and 9572 age- and gender-matched controls (7009 women, 2563 men; 48.73 ± 15.1. years) who were admitted to a dermatology outpatient clinic. All patients were evaluated for hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism using disease-specific International Classification of Diseases codes.

The prevalence rates of hypothyroidism was high in patients with rosacea, with an odds ratio of 1.3 (95% CI, 1.13-1.49, P<.001). No significant difference was found for the rate of hyperthyroidism in patients with rosacea and controls. Hypothyroidism increased in the rosacea arm towards 80 to 89 years of age.

“In this study, the frequency of hypothyroidism was significantly increased in rosacea patients and no association between hyperthyroidism and rosacea was shown,” concluded the study authors.

Reference
Akin Belli A, Alatas ET, Kara Polat A, Akbaba G. Assessment of thyroid disorders in patients with rosacea: a large case-control study. An Bras Dermatol. Published online July 15, 2021. doi:10.1016/j.abd.2021.02.004