N.B. Trinh
Background: Skin tags, or acrochorda are thought to be relatively common skin lesions and they has been postulated that they might reflect the metabolic syndrome.
Objectives: Evaluate the relationship between skin tags and metabolic syndrome.
Methods: A case-control study was conducted with 100 skin tag patients and 100 control patients. Two groups were evaluated the metabolic syndrome by measuring blood pressure, waist circumference, fasting blood glucose test, triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol test at Vinmec Central Park International Hospital.
Results: The rate of metabolic syndrome in skin tag group was 42.7%, which was significantly higher than in control group (11.7%) (p < 0.05). The risk of metabolic syndrome in skin tag patients was 4 times higher than those without skin tag (p < 0.05). The number of skin tags was correlated with metabolic syndrome index (except for HDL-cholesterol level) such as waist circumference measurement (r = 0.354, p < 0.05); blood glucose level (r = 0.48, p < 0.05); triglyceride level (r = 0.668, p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The risk of metabolic syndrome in skin tag patients was higher than in group without skin tags.