EPIDEMIOLOGICAL, CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND SERUM BILIRUBIN, URIC ACID LEVELS IN ROSACEA PATIENTS

Abstract

Background: Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, the etiology of which is still poorly understood. The role of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of rosacea has been shown by several previous studies, however, few studies have currently addressed the roles of bilirubin and uric acid antioxidant.

Aims: To describe epidemiological, clinical characteristics and determine serum bilirubin, uric acid levels in rosacea patients.

Methods: A descriptive study of case series with analysis on 26 rosacea patients who visited the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Dermato-Venereology from December 2020 to January 2022 and 25 healthy controls. Patients participating in the study were recorded epidemiological and clinical characteristics and took blood samples to test the concentration of serum total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, indirect bilirubin and uric acid.

Results: The mean age of rosacea patients was 45.9 ± 14.11, the male:female ratio was 1:1.36. The median duration of disease was 21.5 months. The most common aggravating factors are sun exposure and eating habits of spicy/hot foods. Common symptoms are itching and stinging sensations. The rosacea subtypes were: papulopustular rosacea (53.8%), mixed subtype (19.3%), less proportion was erythematotelangiectatic and phymatous rosacea (15.4% and 11.5%, respectively). There were no cases of ocular or granulomatous subtypes. Serum uric acid levels in the rosacea group were statistically significantly lower than in the control group; there was no significant difference in serum total bilirubin, direct bilirubin and indirect bilirubin levels between the 2 groups. In the rosacea group, there was no significant difference in serum total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, indirect bilirubin and uric acid levels between men and women.

Conclusion: Rosacea usually begins in middle age, women are more common than men, with diverse symptoms and skin lesions. The serum uric acid level was lower in the rosacea group than in the control group, supporting the hypothesis that oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of rosacea.