Rosacea and Dry Eyes Part 2 - How Common Is It?

Dall'Oglio F, Fusto C, Micali G. Intrafamilial Transmission of Rosacea Spanning Six Generations: A Retrospective Observational Study. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2022 Feb;15(2):35-39. PMID: 35309876; PMCID: PMC8884184.

In this study spanning 6 generations of families related to patients with rosacea, there was a high familial association (which in this figure, shows how early in life - as in this grandfather, the disease can be minimally noticeable until much later in life). Further: “The results showed that 64 of 130 patients (49.2%) were positive for at least a family member with rosacea. In addition, 90 affected relatives (69.2%) were identified by extending the familial investigation to the whole kindred, finding a percentage of familiarity (69.2%) higher than that reported in the literature (30-50%) with a 1:1.4. ratio of patients positive for familiarity/affected relative.”

As a dry eye specialist, I tend to see a lot of Ocular Rosacea due to the common association with dry eye. Since all forms of Rosacea can have ocular-related components, I look closely at faces as well as lids and eyes, for signs of this disease. But just how common is Rosacea in the general population? According to a large German study which involved experienced Dermatologists doing the examination on over 161,000 employed German people from many kinds of jobs, the incidence was only 1 in 50 people, though it was closely tied to age - with those over 60 being the most affected (approaching 6%).

Yet when compared to a global analysis taking 26.5 million adults into consideration, the incidence appears closer to more than 1 in 20 people over 18 years old being affected. Interestingly, in my practice (heavily weighted to dry eye sufferers over 18 years of age), I’d say Ocular Rosacea (as determined with microscopic evaluation of the eyelids) is even more common than that. So what does this mean? Well, it really doesn’t matter how many people don’t have it, if you do. Fortunately there are good treatments for this and they work better when caught early and treated effectively.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Jaccoma, call Excellent Vision at either of these two dry eye offices:

(1) 155 Griffin Rd, Portsmouth, NH 03801 (603) 574-2020

(2) 3 Woodland Rd, STE 112 Stoneham, MA 02180 (near Boston) (781) 321-6463