Background: There is currently no study that has evaluated the differences in epidemiological and clinical characteristics among rosacea patients according to different facial sites.
Methods: Clinical and demographic data were obtained from 586 rosacea patients. The patients were divided into four groups based on the main sites involved with the rosacea lesions (full-face, cheeks, nose, or perioral involvement). Clinical signs were measured through self-reported, dermatologist-evaluated grading of symptoms, and physiological indicators of epidermal barrier function.
Results: There were 471 (80.4%), 49 (8.4%), 52 (8.9%), and 14 (2.4%) cases in the full-face, cheek, nasal and perioral groups, respectively. Compared with the healthy control, the full-face group had lower water content and higher transepidermal water loss (TEWL) in the cheeks, and chin; the perioral group had lower water content and higher TEWL in the chin; while the nasal group had the normal water content and TEWL. Compared with the full-face group, the nasal group had more severe phymatous changes, less severe self-reported and dermatologist-evaluated grading of symptoms. All the patients in the perioral or the nasal group had their first rosacea lesions start and remain at the chin or on the nose. In the full-face group, 55.8% of patients had their lesions start with the full face, 40.1% on the cheek, and the rest (4.1%) on the nose.
Conclusion: Significant differences in clinical features were observed among rosacea patients with lesions at four different sites. The lesion localization of each group was relatively stable and barely transferred to other locations.
Keywords: Classification; Epidermal barrier function; Facial sites; Rosacea; Transepidermal water loss.