RESEARCH - Is lipstick associated with the development of SLE?

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Clin Rheumatol. 2008 Sep;27(9):1183-7. Epub 2008 Jun 4.

Is lipstick associated with the development of systemic lupus

erythematosus (SLE)?

Wang J, Kay AB, Fletcher J, Formica MK, McAlindon TE.

Division of Rheumatology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111, USA.

Lipstick use has been hypothesized to be a risk factor of developing

systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The objective of this study was to

investigate the association between lipstick use and risk of SLE. We

performed an Internet-based case-control study of SLE with Google

users searching on medical key terms as the source population. Cases

were diagnosed within 5 years and met > or =4 ACR criteria for SLE by

medical record review. Controls were matched to cases on age, gender,

race, ethnicity, region of residence, reference year, education, and

income using propensity score. Demographic characteristics and

lifestyle factors were collected using an online questionnaire.

Conditional logistic regression models were used for the analyses with

smoking, alcohol consumption, permanent hair dye use, and chemical

hair straightener use adjusted. The analysis included 124 cases and

248 matched controls of whom 96% were females and 81% were whites. The

median of disease duration was 2 years (range 0-4 years). Using

lipstick at least 3 days/week was significantly associated with

increased risk of SLE (adjusted OR = 1.71, 95%CI = 1.04-2.82). There

was a trend of greater risk with earlier age of initiation of lipstick

use (<16 years vs. never use; OR = 1.95, 95%CI = 1.01-3.76, p trend =

0.02) and with increased frequency of use (7 days/week vs. never use;

OR = 1.75, 95%CI = 0.89-3.44, p trend = 0.07). Biologic effects of

chemicals present in lipsticks absorbed across the buccal mucosa and

confounding from unmeasured lifestyle factors could be the explanation

of this association. Epidemiologic studies of SLE should include this

exposure in exploring its environmental triggers.

PMID: 18523821

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18523821

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