Association between rosacea and helicobacter pylori infection: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The potential association between rosacea and a heightened prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection has been previously suggested. However, existing studies offer inconsistent results. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to elucidate the relationship between rosacea and HP infection.

METHODS

We conducted comprehensive searches of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases to identify relevant observational studies for our investigation. We utilized the random-effects model to aggregate the data to address the potential influence of heterogeneity among the studies on the outcome.

RESULTS

Our analysis incorporated twenty-five datasets from 23 case-control and cross-sectional studies, encompassing 51,054 rosacea patients and 4,709,074 controls without skin disease. The pooled results revealed a significantly higher prevalence of HP infection in individuals with rosacea compared to controls (odds ratio [OR]: 1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17-1.95, p<0.001; I2 = 79%). Subgroup analysis indicated an increased prevalence of HP infection in rosacea studies that utilized one (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.11-2.66, p = 0.02; I2 = 76%) or more tests for HP infection (OR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.29-3.98, p = 0.005; I2 = 56%). However, this association was not observed in population-based studies that determined HP infection based on prescription records for HP eradication drugs (OR: 0.90, 95% CI: 0.76-1.07, p = 0.024; I2 = 54%).

CONCLUSION

Rosacea may be significantly associated with a higher prevalence of HP infection. High-quality prospective studies with delicately controlled confounding factors are needed to determine if HP infection is a risk factor for rosacea.

Interactions between immune system and the microbiome of skin, blood and gut in pathogenesis of rosacea

The increasingly wide use of next-generation sequencing technologies has revolutionised our knowledge of microbial environments associated with human skin, gastrointestinal tract and blood. The collective set of microorganisms influences metabolic processes, affects immune responses, and so directly or indirectly modulates disease. Rosacea is a skin condition of abnormal inflammation and vascular dysfunction, and its progression is affected by Demodex mites on the skin surface. When looking into the effects influencing development of rosacea, it is not only the skin microbiome change that needs to be considered. Changes in the intestinal microbiome and their circulating metabolites, as well as changes in the blood microbiome also affect the progression of rosacea. Recent research has confirmed the increased presence of bacterial genera like Acidaminococcus and Megasphera in the intestinal microbiome and Rheinheimera and Sphingobium in the blood microbiome of rosacea patients. In this review we discuss our current knowledge of the interactions between the immune system and the skin, gut and blood microbiome, with particular attention to rosacea diagnostic opportunities.

Rosacea is associated with Helicobacter pylori: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Rosacea is a common skin disease characterized by facial erythema, telangiectasia, papules and pustules. Helicobacter pylori infection has been suggested to play a role in the etiopathogenesis of rosacea.

OBJECTIVE

To systematically review and meta-analyse the relationship between rosacea and infection with Helicobacter pylori.

METHODS

A literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science. Data extraction and analyses were performed on descriptive data. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Random-effects models with DerSimonian-Laird methods were utilized to estimate pooled odds ratios (ORs), with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Heterogeneity of results was assessed using I² statistics.

RESULTS

A total of 454 articles were identified and 42 full-text articles were chosen for further review. Fourteen studies were included in the quantitative meta-analysis, comprising a total of 928 rosacea patients and 1527 controls. The overall association between Helicobacter pylori infection and rosacea was non-significant (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.00-2.84, P = 0.052), but analysis restricted to C-urea breath test showed a significant association (OR 3.12, 95% CI 1.92-5.07, P < 0.0001). Effect of eradication treatment on rosacea symptoms was assessed in seven studies, but without significant effect (RR 1.28, 95% CI 0.98-1.67, P = 0.069).

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis found weak associations between rosacea and Helicobacter pylori infection as well as an effect of Helicobacter pylori therapy on rosacea symptoms, albeit that these did not reach statistical significance. Whether a pathogenic link between the two conditions exists, or whether Helicobacter pylori infection represents a proxy for other factors remains unknown.

The gut-skin axis in health and disease: A paradigm with therapeutic implications

As crucial interface organs gut and skin have much in common. Therefore it is unsurprising that several gut pathologies have skin co-morbidities. Nevertheless, the reason for this remains ill explored, and neither mainstream gastroenterology nor dermatology research have systematically investigated the 'gut-skin axis'. Here, in reviewing the field, we propose several mechanistic levels on which gut and skin may interact under physiological and pathological circumstances. We focus on the gut microbiota, with its huge metabolic capacity, and the role of dietary components as potential principle actors along the gut-skin axis. We suggest that metabolites from either the diet or the microbiota are skin accessible. After defining open key questions around the nature of these metabolites, how they are sensed, and which cutaneous changes they can induce, we propose that understanding of these pathways will lead to novel therapeutic strategies based on targeting one organ to improve the health of the other.

14C-urea breath test is safe for pediatric patients

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, quite prevalent in the developing countries, is considered to be one of the causative factors for various gastric pathologies and other nongastric diseases. It is believed that H. pylori infection is almost always acquired in early childhood and persists throughout life unless specific treatment is given. The (13/14)C-urea breath test (UBT) is now considered to be a 'gold standard' technique for the detection of H. pylori infection. However, because of the lack of facilities and high cost, the preferred nonradioactive ¹³C-UBT cannot be performed on pediatric patients in developing countries, whereas the radioactive ¹⁴C-UBT is not used on children because of the fear of radiation exposure. When using 37 kBq (1 μCi) of ¹⁴C-urea for the ¹⁴C-UBT, the patient is not exposed to more radiation than is acquired from the natural environment in one day, as almost all the ingested radioactivity is excreted from the body (urine and breath) within 72-120 h. This article reviews the importance of the ¹⁴C-UBT for the detection of H. pylori and justifies the radiation safety aspects of its use in children without any fear of 'radiation phobia' where the facility for ¹³C-UBT is lacking.

Risk factors associated with rosacea

BACKGROUND

Although rosacea is a common disease, the cause of disease is still a mystery -Helicobacter pylori infection, genetic predisposition, climatic factors, and detrimental habits are implicated as triggers of rosacea.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of current study is to evaluate several suspected risk factors coincidently.

METHODS

Patients with rosacea from a dermatology clinic and skin-healthy controls from an randomly selected employees' population enrolled the study. Skin status were evaluated by one and same dermatologist. Participants were queried for age, gender, sun-reactive skin type, and detrimental habits using a questionnaire; blood samples for detecting Helicobacter pylori serostatus were collected.

RESULTS

Totally 145 skin-healthy controls and 172 subjects either with flushing episodes or established rosacea included the study. In multivariate analysis, rosacea patients had significantly higher chance to have photosensitive skin types (OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.01-3.04; P < 0.05), positive family history to rosacea (OR 4.31; 95% CI 2.34-7.92; P < 0.0001) or previous smoking status (OR 2.01; 95% CI 1.07-3.80; P < 0.05) comparing with skin-healthy controls. There were no statistically significant differences either in gender, Helicobacter pylori serostatus, caffeine intake, alcohol consumption, occupational environment, or education level between rosacea patients and controls.

CONCLUSION

Rosacea is foremost associated with familial predisposition. There is no association between Helicobacter pylori infection and rosacea in current study.