NRS survey suggests links between rosacea and genetics, ethnic heritage

Barrington, Ill. - Results of a recently released survey indicate that rosacea may be genetic, the National Rosacea Society (NRS) reports.

The survey of 600 rosacea patients, conducted by the NRS, found that nearly 52 percent of the respondents had a relative who also suffered from the condition and that people of certain nationalities are more prone to developing the disorder.

Of those who said they had a relative with rosacea, most said it was an immediate family member. Thirty percent reported their mother had rosacea, while 35 percent said their father. Twenty eight percent had a sister with the disease, 24 percent a brother, and some respondents said they had more than one family member suffering from rosacea.

The survey also reported that rosacea appears to be especially prevalent people of German, Irish and English descent: Forty-one percent of the respondents reported they had some German ancestry, while U.S. Census figures show that 15 percent of the population is of German ancestry; 31 percent reported they had at least one parent of Irish ancestry (11 percent of the population is of Irish heritage), and more than 30 percent reported English ancestry (9 percent of the population is of English ancestry).

Other nationalities in which rosacea was present at a higher rate than their ethnic percentage of the population include Scandinavian, Scottish, French, Polish, Russian, Lithuanian, Hungarian and Czech.

In addition, nearly 15 percent of the respondents reported that one or more of their children have been diagnosed with rosacea.