Retracted: Metabolic Syndrome in Melasma: A case-control study.

Abstract

Melasma is an acquired hyperpigmentation disease and characterized by increased melanogenesis in melanocytes. In recent studies, melasma is showed to be a disease with chronic inflammation. The presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in patients with melasma has not been evaluated in the literature. We aimed to investigate this association compared with controls. A prospective controlled study was designed between January and June 2021. Fifty patients with melasma and 44 healthy subjects' frequency-matched for age and sex were included in the study. Clinical characteristics, melasma disease severity index (MASI), MetS components, insulin levels, and HOMA-IR levels were noted, and compared with controls. MetS was more common in the patient group than the control group (36.0% vs. 22.7%) without a significant difference (p=0.160). No significant difference regarding the metabolic control variables (BMI, waist circumference, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and glucose) between the patient and control groups was obtained. Fasting insulin and HOMA-IR levels were higher in the patient group than in the control group (p < 0.05). MASI scores of melasma patients with MetS were higher than patients without MetS without a significant difference (p=0.465). It may be recommended to evaluate patients diagnosed with melasma in terms of insulin resistance and the presence of MetS. Further studies are needed in this regard. Clarifying the causes of the relationship between MetS and skin diseases will help to improve clinical outcomes and may be an opportunity for the development of new treatment options.