title: Frequency of metabolic syndrome in patients with knuckle pads.
abstract: Knuckle pads are hyperkeratotic, benign skin lesions that we commonly observe in obese patients. There is no study that investigates the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and knuckle pads. We aimed to investigate the frequency of MetS in patients with knuckle pads. Forty-seven patients with knuckle pads and 46 age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled. The presence of MetS was evaluated according to National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. In the patient group, waist circumference (P < 0.01), body mass index (BMI; P < 0.01), and systolic (P < 0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (P < 0.01) were higher than controls, and most of the patients had a history of hypertension (P < 0.01). The presence of MetS was found in 66% of the patients with knuckle pads and in 52.2% of the controls (P = 0.25). In the patient group, compared with controls, more patients had blood pressure above reference values or were on antihypertensive therapy (70.2% and 43.5%, P = 0.017, respectively), and had greater waist circumference value (93.6% and 76.1%, P = 0.038, respectively). The presence of the other three criteria were similar in both groups. Although we found similar MetS frequency in both groups, patients with knuckle pads should be examined for the presence of MetS components, especially abdominal obesity and hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Konya Training and Research Hospital, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gulcan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saylam Kurtipek
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Konya Training and Research Hospital, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Orkide
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kutlu
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Konya Training and Research Hospital, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cevdet
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duran
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Konya Training and Research Hospital, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Huseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kurku
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Konya Training and Research Hospital, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Arzu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ataseven
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Medical Faculty, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tuncez Akyurek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005384:Finger Joint; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D007642:Keratosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000150:complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D055105:Waist Circumference
keywords: National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III criteria; abdominal obesity; hypertension; knuckle pad; metabolic syndrome; waist circumference