title: Lack of evidence that obesity is a cause of pilonidal sinus disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To find out whether pilonidal sinus is more common among obese people.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective study from hospital records.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two university hospitals, Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  419 patients who were operated on for pilonidal sinus disease; and 213 age and sex matched patients with benign diseases other than pilonidal sinus disease and who were not morbidly obese acted as controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparison of body mass index (BMI) in the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with BMI of 25-30 were classified as overweight (61/419, 15% compared with 28/213, 13%), and those with BMI of 30 or more as obese (7/419 compared with 4/213, 2% in each group). Mean (SD) BMI of patients with pilonidal sinus disease was 26.0 (3.9) compared with 25.6 (3.9) in the control group (p = 0.4).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obesity alone is not an important factor in the aetiology of pilonidal sinus disease.
authors.affiliation: Kocaeli University, Medical School, Turkey. defnecubukcu@hotmail.com
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cubukçu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carkman
authors.forename: N N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Gönüllü
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alponat
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kayabaşi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eyüboğlu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D010864:Pilonidal Sinus / Q000209:etiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors