Study: Reddit Upvotes May Not Reflect Quality of Rosacea Advice
Key Takeaways
- Treatment and regimen experiences accounted for nearly half of the analyzed r/Rosacea posts, with redness/flushing among the most common discussion topics.
- Comments that aligned more closely with National Rosacea Society (NRS) management options received numerically more upvotes than lower-graded comments, but the differences were not statistically significant.
- The authors said engagement across recommendation grades suggests that Reddit upvotes may not reliably help users distinguish advice based on its alignment with NRS management options.
A study of Reddit’s r/Rosacea community examined what users discuss and whether engagement differed according to how closely recommendations aligned with National Rosacea Society (NRS) standard management options.
Treatment Experiences Dominate Rosacea Discussions
Investigators analyzed the top r/Rosacea “help” posts from June 30, 2023, through June 30, 2024. The final analysis included 185 posts and 74 comments. Posts were categorized by purpose and mined for recurring topics. Comments from first-time diagnosis posts and the top 10 diagnosis follow-up posts were also assigned grades of A, B, or C based on alignment with NRS management options.
Treatment/regimen experiences accounted for 48.65% of posts, followed by diagnosis follow-up inquiries (19.46%) and product recommendation or guidance requests (16.22%). The 5 leading subtopics included redness/flushing; negative social, emotional, or functional effects; moisturizing; triggers or exacerbating factors; and bumps, papules, or acneiform lesions.
Among first-time diagnosis posts, comments graded A or B averaged 6.5 upvotes compared with 3.86 for Grade C comments, although the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.15). For follow-up posts, A/B comments also received numerically more upvotes than Grade C comments (9.37 vs 8.05; P = 0.63).
Limitations included the cross-sectional design, 1-year sampling period, potential deletion of posts or comments, community self-moderation, and the broad definition of Grade B.
"This study offers insight into the variable quality of user-generated content about Rosacea on Reddit, highlighting the need for improved patient education to help assess dermatological recommendation/advice quality," the authors wrote. "Dermatologists can leverage this to anticipate diagnosis and treatment expectations and guide patients toward reliable information sources."
Source
Kotlyal, J, et al. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology. 2026. 25(8):e71.