A Cross-sectional Study of Rosacea and Risk Factors in Women with Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia

Frontal fibrosing alopecia has been related to some auto-immune diseases, but the association with rosacea is not clear. The objective of this study was to analyse the prevalence of rosacea in a group of patients with frontal fibrosing alopecia. A cross-sectional study, including 99 women with frontal fibrosing alopecia and 40 controls, was performed, in which clinical, dermoscopic and hormonal data were analysed. Women with frontal fibrosing alopecia presented a higher prevalence of rosacea than the controls did (61.6% vs. 30%, p = 0.001), especially those with severe grades of alopecia (77.8% in grade V vs. 33.3% in grade I, p = 0.02). Binary logistic multivariate analysis showed that perifollicular erythema (odds ratio (OR) 8.5; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.73-42.30), higher body mass index (OR 1.16; 95% CI 1.011.34) and lower progesterone levels (OR 0.15; 95% CI 0.028-0.89) were associated with a higher risk of rosacea in patients with frontal fibrosing alopecia. In conclusion, patients with frontal fibrosing alopecia presented a higher prevalence of rosacea than did controls. Perifollicular erythema, higher body mass index and lower progesterone levels were associated with a higher risk of rosacea in the group with frontal fibrosing alopecia.