COVID-19 related masks increase severity of both acne (maskne) and rosacea

January 27, 2021

Damiani, G., Gironi, L. C., Grada, A., Kridin, K., Finelli, R., Buja, A., Savoia, P.

Dermatologic Therapy

A multicenter prospective observational study was conducted, including 66 patients, 30 (median age: 34 [30.25-29.75] years) with acne, specifically 12 (40%) men and 18 (60%) women and 36 patients (median age: 48 [43-54] years) with rosacea with a higher prevalence of women (n = 22, 61.1%) than men (n = 14, 38.9%), the relapses and exacerbation of acne and rosacea, in stable patients who use face masks for an average of 8 hours a day, the evaluation is carried out in two stages, at the beginning of the study (T0) and 6 weeks later (T1) the severity was evaluated by means of scores GAGS for all six areas (forehead, each cheek, nose, chin, and chest/upper back) and DLQI, rosacea-affected patients were further subcategorized according to disease type (predominant or papulopustular [PP] phenotype or erythematotelangiectatic phonotype [EE] DLQI and all mask-related GAGS scores significantly worsen (P < .0001) after 6 months in the case of acne and in the case of rosacea all high scores were increased. There was no correlation of the results with age, hours with mask/day and gender.

Damiani G, Gironi LC, Grada A, et al. COVID-19 related masks increase severity of both acne (maskne) and rosacea (mask rosacea): Multi-center, real-life, telemedical, and observational prospective study. Dermatologic Therapy 2021; 34: e14848.

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