Can Caffeine Prevent Rosacea?

Caffeine can reduce vasodilation and has an immunosuppressive effect, which may reduce the risk of rosacea. However, the high temperature when drinking hot coffee may induce the flushing of rosacea, so coffee was once mistakenly believed to be a trigger for rosacea.

A cohort study from Denmark included 82,737 women in a prospective cohort established in 1989 that was followed up every two years between 1991 and 2005. During follow-up, data on coffee, tea, soda, and chocolate intake were collected every 4 years. History and year of clinical diagnosis of rosacea in 2005 were collected.

During 1 120 051 person-years of follow-up, 4945 cases of rosacea were diagnosed. After adjustment for other risk factors, an inverse association was found between increased caffeine intake and the risk of rosacea (hazard ratio for the highest quintile of caffeine intake versus the lowest quintile, 0.76). The study also found a significant inverse association between drinking caffeinated coffee and the risk of rosacea (hazard ratio for those drinking ≥ 4 servings per day versus those drinking < 1 serving/month, 0.77). Decaffeinated coffee did not have a protective effect. Further analysis found that, in addition to coffee, higher caffeine intake from foods other than tea (tea, soda, and chocolate) was not significantly associated with a reduced risk of rosacea.

The study concluded that caffeine intake from coffee was inversely associated with the risk of developing rosacea.

We cannot conclude from this that coffee can prevent rosacea, but if you already have rosacea and cannot tolerate hot coffee, you might want to try iced coffee.

References

JAMA Dermatol. 2018;154(12):1394.