Association Between Acid-Suppressive Drugs and Risk of Rosacea: Retrospective Study Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort.

Background: Rosacea is a common inflammatory skin disease with multiple etiologies. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RA) are acid suppressive drugs widely used for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, and long-term use has been reported to be associated with dysbiosis which is a potential risk for development of rosacea. This study aimed to study the association between rosacea and acid suppressants in the Korean national cohort.

Methods: We used Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort data of 749,166 patients with upper GI diseases between 2001 and 2013. Duration of acid suppressants was compared between patients with and without rosacea together with other sociodemographic characteristics and hazard ratios were estimated.

Results: Longer use of acid suppressants was significantly associated with increased risk of rosacea. After adjustment for possible confounders, increased cumulative defined daily dose was significantly associated with risk of rosacea (odds ratio [OR], 1.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20-2.00; = 0.001). Other factors significantly associated with risk of rosacea include residing in the rural area (OR, 2.58; 95% CI, 2.18-3.06; < 0.001), greater Charlson Comorbidity Index score (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.15-1.83; = 0.002), and comorbidities (malignancy, thyroid disease, and depression).

Conclusion: Results from our study indicate that H2RA or PPI is associated with the occurrence of rosacea among patients with GI diseases in the Korean population. The risk was increased in dose-dependent manner, even after adjusting for confounding variables. Clinicians should be aware of risks associated with prolonged use of acid suppressive drugs.