Effects of skin care habits on the development of rosacea: A multi-center retrospective case-control survey in Chinese population

PLoS One. 2020 Apr 27;15(4):e0231078. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231078. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Background: Certain cosmetic habits may trigger or aggravate rosacea, while there is little published epidemiologic evidence to support this point.

Purpose: To examine if daily skin care habits have an effect on the development of rosacea in Chinese population.

Methods: A multi-center retrospective case-control survey of 1,245 rosacea cases and 1,538 skin-healthy controls was conducted in China. Participants completed the questionnaire comprised of demographic characteristics, socioeconomic data and daily skin care habits. Data were collected retrospectively and analyzed using the chi-square test and t-test. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to predict rosacea.

Results: The multivariate logistic regression analysis highlighted some results: Dry, oily or mixed skin (OR = 6.3-6.9, P< .001), the usage of foaming cleanser (OR = 1.45, 95%CI 1.115-1.886, P = .01), make up more than 6 times a week (OR = 2.839, 95%CI 1.962-4.108, P< .001), using facial mask more than 4 times a week (OR = 2.56-3.069, P< .001), facial treatments at beauty salon more than once a week (OR = 4.946, 95%CI 2.005-12.198, P = .0018) and using beauty salon products (OR = 2.334, 95%CI 1.435-3.976, P = .0018) are positively correlated with the development of rosacea. Using of moisturizing products (OR = 0.602, 95%CI 0.386-0.983, P = .035) and sunscreen cream (OR = 0.303-0.507, P< .001 or P = .0167 for different frequency) presented significantly negative correlations with rosacea. Frequency of cleansing showed a nonlinear association with rosacea: using facial cleansers 1~3 times per week (OR = 0.647, 95%CI 0.429-0.975, P = .038) showed beneficial effects while using facial cleanser excessively (twice or more daily) (OR = 2.131, 95%CI 1.394-3.256, P< .001) positively correlated to rosacea strongly.

Conclusions: Excessive use of facial cleanser (twice or more a day) and facial mask (more than 4 times a week), frequent makeup (more than 6 times a week), regular skin care in beauty salon (more than once a week), and using beauty salon products were closely correlated to the development of rosacea in Chinese population.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Case-Control Studies
  • China / epidemiology
  • Cosmetics / adverse effects*
  • Face / pathology*
  • Female
  • Habits
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Regression Analysis
  • Rosacea / epidemiology*
  • Rosacea / etiology
  • Rosacea / pathology
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Skin / drug effects
  • Skin / pathology
  • Skin Care / adverse effects
  • Skin Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Skin Diseases / etiology
  • Skin Diseases / pathology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Cosmetics

Grants and funding

(1) Initial of the author who received each award: Y-x H (2) Grant numbers awarded to the author: 81502750 (3) The full name of each funder: the National Natural Science Foundation of China (4) URL of the funder website: http://www.nsfc.gov.cn/ (5) The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.