Association of Acrochordons with Diabetes Mellitus - A Hospital based Case Control Study

Abstract

Introduction Acrochordons or skin tags are common benign cutaneous tumors that occur especially over the neck and major flexures. A possible association with diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia is observed in numerous past studies with varying results. We aim to find out the association of diabetes mellitus with acrochordons Methods: One hundred patients were enrolled in our study. Among them, 50 (27 males and 23 females) with skin tags were selected as cases and 50 with other dermatologic diseases after matching age and gender were taken as controls. Blood glucose levels including both fasting and post-prandial glucose levels were determined for both cases and controls and compared. Results: There was a higher frequency of Diabetes Mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance in patients with skin tags in comparison to controls (p<0.001). Moreover, there were higher odds of acquiring skin tags in patient with abnormal blood glucose levels. Conclusions: There is an increased risk of developing DM in patients with skin tags. It is highly recommended that suspicion for Diabetes Mellitus is to be done in patients with skin tags for early screening and diagnosis of diabetes.