title: Prevalence of rosacea in community settings.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prevalence of rosacea is poorly characterized. Because selection bias may affect prevalence estimates, there is a need to characterize the prevalence of rosacea outside the clinic setting.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence of rosacea in community settings.
  
  
  METHODS
  A clinical research fellow and a medical student stood in public places (a mall, the Department of Motor Vehicles, a grocery store) and examined consecutive individuals who passed by ≤ 2 yards away. They tallied demographic and descriptive data on the subject and included the subject in one of three categories: clearly rosacea, possible rosacea, and definitely no rosacea. Subanalyses by perceived gender, age, race, and rosacea subtype were also performed. Comparisons between groups were made using the Fisher exact test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Considering the prevalence of rosacea among all observed individuals in the community setting, 5.4% (95% CI 3.6-7.8) of individuals had "possible" rosacea and 6% (95% CI 4.1-8.5) of individuals had "definite" rosacea. Older, white individuals with fairer skin types (Fitzpatrick skin types I, II, and III) were more likely to have rosacea. There was no gender predisposition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Distance from subjects made it difficult to assess patients with mild rosacea or a few telangiectasias, as well as ocular rosacea. The study could not assess those individuals who were too embarrassed by their rosacea to be in the public settings observed. Additionally, some subjects may have applied significant makeup in an effort to conceal their rosacea, making assessment difficult.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on direct observation of individuals in community settings, rosacea is more common than previously reported in the United States.
authors.affiliation: Center for Dermatology Research, Departments of Dermatology, Pathology and Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Farah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Moustafa
authors.affiliation: Center for Dermatology Research, Departments of Dermatology, Pathology and Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hopkinson
authors.affiliation: Center for Dermatology Research, Departments of Dermatology, Pathology and Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Karen E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Center for Dermatology Research, Departments of Dermatology, Pathology and Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC sfeldman@wakehealth.edu.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feldman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012393:Rosacea / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult