title: Skin lesions in diabetes mellitus: prevalence and clinical correlations.
abstract: With the aim to assess the prevalence and the main clinical correlations of skin lesions in diabetes mellitus, 457 diabetic subjects consecutively attending an outpatient clinic underwent a dermatological examination. Neurovascular foot lesions were excluded. Thirty-five of 64 IDDM patients (54%) had skin alterations mainly consisting of vitiligo (9% of all patients), psoriasis (9%) and eczema (8%). The most frequent skin lesions observed in 240/393 NIDDM subjects (61%) were represented by infections (20% of all patients) and diabetic dermopathy (12.5%), while other lesions were not common. NIDDM patients with skin infections had a worse metabolic control, and those with diabetic dermopathy had a greater prevalence of neuropathy and large vessel disease than patients without skin lesions. These data show that the prevalence of skin diseases in a large, unselected diabetic population is higher than expected and indicate that, in most cases, a careful dermatological examination and a better metabolic control are needed in order to improve quality of life in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Policlinico Universitario, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moretti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Benedetto
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giofrè
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Cesare
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Califano
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cucinotta
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D003881:Dermatomycoses / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications* / Q000378:metabolism; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000139:chemically induced; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007328:Insulin / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D007328:Insulin