Study Finds Family History, Higher Incidence of Sunburns Associated Wi...(condition. Comparing the data for...),Health

Comparing the data for the two study groups, Dr. Kimball found that rosacea subjects were three times more likely to have a family member with rosacea compared to the control group. Specifically, 34 percent of rosacea subjects reported a family member with rosacea vs. 10.5 percent of control subjects. When answering questions about their dermatological and medical conditions, rosacea subjects had significantly higher rates of blistering sunburns than control subjects (44 percent vs. 5.2 percent, respectively).

"Even when we did a more sophisticated analysis of the data controlling for age and gender, we found these findings were statistically significant and confirmed our previous findings," said Dr. Kimball. "Although these results are quite preliminary, they are important for future research as we start to explore these positive associations and their implications in controlling this condition."

In families with a history of rosacea, Dr. Kimball advised parents to consistently protect children from sun exposure with a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or higher and to practice other sun-safe behaviors in order to minimize the risk of sunburns. From her research, it could not be determined if sunburns were a contributing factor to rosacea or if patients with rosacea were more likely to sunburn due to the nature of their skin condition. In either case, she noted that these preventative measures could help lessen the severity of rosacea.

One potential association with rosacea that Dr. Kimball noticed in her previous photo database analysis that was not found to be significant in her case-controlled study was a higher body mass index (BMI) in rosacea patients. While a BMI in the range of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal, the rosacea subjects in the previous photo analysis had a mean BMI of 27.6 (which is considered overweight) vs. a 24.3 mean BMI in the su
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