Relationship of Biochemical and Sonographic Markers with Disease Severity in Rosacea Patients Without Cardiovascular Disease

Rosacea is a chronic skin condition characterized by inflammatory lesions. Inflammation plays an important role in all stages of atherosclerosis, yet there is debate in the literature regarding whether rosacea is a systemic inflammatory disease and its association with cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to investigate this potential relationship by assessing biochemical markers and sonographic findings in rosacea patients and disease severity groups. Our study included 73 rosacea patients and 73 age- and sex-matched controls, without cardiovascular risk factors. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were recorded for all participants. Carotid intima-media thickness and the thickness of subcutaneous, preperitoneal, posterior perirenal, and aortic-level visceral adipose tissues were measured by ultrasonography. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was significantly elevated in rosacea patients versus controls. Additionally, sonographic assessments revealed that both aortic-level visceral adipose tissue and preperitoneal adipose tissue were significantly thicker in rosacea patients than in the control group, a finding corroborated by multivariate linear regression analysis. While thicker preperitoneal and perirenal adipose tissues were observed with increasing disease severity, these differences did not achieve statistical significance when subjected to multivariate linear regression analysis. Our findings support the association between rosacea and cardiovascular risk. The thorough examination and follow-up of patients with rosacea for cardiovascular risk factors may be necessary in clinical practice.