TOPLINE:
A study found significant associations between melasma and several comorbidities, including hypertension and hormonal contraception use, which were the most common.
METHODOLOGY:
- Melasma predominantly affects young women of color and often worsens in hyperestrogen states; understanding the association with comorbidities can improve surveillance and treatment strategies.
- Researchers evaluated 41,283 patients with melasma (mean age, 48.8 years; 93% women) from the TriNetX database and an equal number of matched control individuals.
- The main outcome was comorbidities including allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, anticonvulsants, diabetes, hormonal contraceptives, hypothyroidism, hypertension, lupus, rosacea, skin cancer, and malignancy.
TAKEAWAY:
- Among those with melasma, 25% had hypertension and 24% used hormonal contraception, the two most commonly associated risk factors identified.
- Rosacea (odds ratio [OR], 5.1), atopic dermatitis (OR, 3.3), lupus (OR, 2.5), history of skin cancer (OR, 2.5), and history of internal malignancy (OR, 2.1) were associated with the highest risk of developing melasma (P < .01 for all).
- Asian (OR, 2.0; P < .01) and “other/unknown” races (OR, 1.7; P < .01) and Hispanic ethnicity (OR, 1.3; P < .01) were also significantly associated with melasma, while the odds were slightly lower among White, Black/African American, and “not Hispanic” groups (ORs, 0.8; P < .01 for all groups).
IN PRACTICE:
the authors wrote.
SOURCE:
The study, led by Ajay N. Sharma, MD, MBA, of the Department of Dermatology at the University of California, Irvine, was published online in Journal of Drugs in Dermatology.
LIMITATIONS:
The study limitations included the retrospective design, potential misclassification of diagnoses, and the inability to establish causality.
DISCLOSURES:
The study did not disclose any funding sources. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.