Evaluation of epicardial fat thickness and the ankle-brachial index in patients with rosacea: A case-control study

Recent data suggest that rosacea is related to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) due to its inflammatory nature and immune dysregulation.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the values of epicardial fat thickness (EFT) and the ankle-brachial index (ABI) in patients with rosacea, as indicators of subclinical atherosclerosis and CVD risk.

This prospective case-control study was carried out on 62 participants, including 31 rosacea patients and 31 controls. The values of EFT and ABI were measured in all subjects.

The mean thickness of EFT was statistically higher in rosacea patients (0.54 ± 0.12 mm) than in the controls (0.39 ± 0.05 mm) (P < 0.01). ABI was not significantly different between the subjects with rosacea and the comparison group (1.02 ± 0.1 vs 0.98 ± 0.07; P = 0.131). A total of 29% of the rosacea patients had mitral valve insufficiency (MVI), while 3.2% of the control group had MVI (P = 0.006). A mild degree of tricuspid valve insufficiency (TVI) was present in 45.2% of the rosacea patients, while 19.4% of the controls had TVI (P = 0.03).

Rosacea may be associated with subclinical cardiac dysfunction. EFT measurements in rosacea patients can provide early detection of possible subclinical cardiovascular diseases, which can be life-extending in rosacea. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are required to confirm the present findings.