Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that causes facial redness and bumps, involving the central region of the face - mainly the forehead, cheeks, chin, and the lower half of the nose. An estimated 16 million people in the United States alone and 45 million worldwide are affected by rosacea. It’s commonly mistaken as acne, sunburn, rosy cheeks, or a sign of heavy alcohol consumption. Although there is no cure, there are certain trigger factors such as spicy foods, extreme weather changes, and overheating. To find out more, researchers studied the effect of drinking caffeinated coffee on the risk for rosacea. 

The scientists used data on 82,737 women participating in a large health study between 1991 and 2005. The study collected information on coffee consumption every four years and documented 4,945 cases of clinician-diagnosed rosacea over the period. The analysis, in JAMA Dermatology, found that women who drank four or more cups a day had a 23 percent lower risk of the skin disorder than those who drank less than a cup a month. Decaffeinated coffee was not associated with a decreased risk for rosacea. The senior author, Wen-Qing Li, an assistant professor of dermatology at Brown University, states, “We would positively anticipate that caffeine intake and caffeinated coffee consumption may be beneficial for lessening rosacea severity as well, but this would require further clinical investigation.”  The caffeine may actually reduce the swelling of blood vessels in the face, therefore decreasing the redness.