Evaluation of the influence of social, demographic, environmental, work-related factors and/or lifestyle habits on Raynaud's phenomenon: a case-control study

Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is a clinical disorder characterized by recurrent, reversible episodes of digital vasospasm. RP can be classified as primary (pRP) or secondary, depending on whether it occurs as a benign condition (not disease-associated) or is associated with other diseases, mainly of the connective tissues. In both cases, it can be triggered by environmental factors, as indicated by the increased incidence of pRP episodes following exposure to cold, vibration injury or chemicals. The purpose of this prospective case-control study was to assess, in an Italian cohort of 132 pRP patients, the association of the phenomenon with demographic, lifestyle habits, environmental and work-related factors. Compared to healthy controls, pRP was found to be inversely associated with the use of contact lenses (OR = 0.4; p = 0.004) and of chlorous-based disinfectants (OR = 0.3; p < 0.001) and directly associated with the presence of prosthesis implants (OR = 5.3; p = 0.001) and the use of hydrogen peroxide-based compounds (OR = 2.6; p = 0.002), suggesting that the latter should be avoided in RP affected patients. Multivariate and multivariable analysis confirmed the associations. Further investigations are needed to understand the mechanism(s) underlying these findings.