Assessment of lipid profile among patients with seborrheic dermatitis

Abstract

Background: Although the complicated interplay of Malassezia, keratinocytes and the immune response against a modified lipid composition in the skin have a vital role in the pathogenesis of Seborrheic Dermatitis (SD), the pathophysiology itself is still inadequately understood. The association of SD with metabolic syndrome like dyslipidemia can be explained by inflammation in both conditions' pathogenesis. The present study was aimed at evaluating the relationship between the lipid profile abnormality and the SD. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the Dermatology teaching center in Sulaimani, Iraq, from 1/9/2019 to 1/3/2020. This study used a structured data collection format comprised of items concentrating on socio-demographic characteristics, duration of the disease, level of SD, the severity of SD, and lipid profile. The data were analyzed by STATA 14 statistical software and summarized in tables and figures. The Chi-square test was done to detect the association between categorical variables. P-value <0.05 was significant.Results: A total of 100 patients with seborrheic dermatitis with the average age of patients was 37.5 ±13.06 years, and 61 were females. The mean fasting total cholesterol (219.72 mg/dl vs.114.83 mg/dl), LDL-C (123.92 mg/dl vs. 85.08 mg/dl) and triglycerides (170.38 mg/dl vs.102.17 mg/dl) levels were higher for the high-level cases than the normal level cases. The HDL-C level (31.06 mg/dl vs. 38.94 mg/dl) of the high-level patients was lower than normal patients. Age, total cholesterol level, LDL-C, triglycerides, and HDL-C had a statistically significant association with the disease's level and severity. The duration of the disease had a statistically significant association with only the level of disease.Conclusion: Lipid profile has a statistically significant association with the level and severity of SD. Finally, we recommend a large observational study to depict the causal relationship between serum lipid abnormality and SD.