Association of rosacea with depression and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Rosacea is associated with several comorbidities, but its relationship with psychiatric disorders remains controversial. We aimed to investigate the association of rosacea with depression and anxiety.

A systematic review was performed of relevant observational studies in the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Wanfang databases from inception to June 8, 2021. The inclusion criteria for eligible studies were observational studies comparing the incidence or prevalence of depression or anxiety between patients with rosacea and individuals without rosacea. We conducted meta-analyses with a random-effects model. The main outcome was pooled analysis of prevalence or incidence of depression and anxiety in patients with rosacea.

We included nine studies with 101,114,209 patients with rosacea. A pooled analysis from cross-sectional and case-control studies revealed that patients with rosacea were significantly more likely to have depression (crude odds ratio [OR], 2.855; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.258-6.481) and anxiety (crude OR, 2.373; 95% CI, 1.448-3.888) than matched controls; however, adjusted ORs showed no significant association. Furthermore, the meta-analysis from cohort studies indicated that patients with rosacea have significantly higher risks of developing depression (adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRR], 2.443; 95% CI, 1.603-3.723) and anxiety (adjusted IRR, 2.181; 95% CI, 1.660-2.864).

Data for a subgroup analysis based on different demographic factors were insufficient.

Current findings provide more evidence that rosacea is significantly associated with depression and anxiety, and rosacea may predispose patients to develop depression and anxiety. Clinicians should be aware of the psychological aspects of rosacea.