Relationship between acanthosis nigricans, acrochordon and metabolic syndrome in patients with lichen planus

In the literature, there are no data examining the association with lichen planus with acanthosis nigricans and acrochordon, which are skin findings of metabolic syndrome (MS).

A total of 108 lichen planus (LP) patients, age and sex-matched 109 controls, 217 patients in total were prospectively included in the study.

Metabolic Syndrome was found in 55 (50.9%) of 108 patients with lichen planus and 36.7% in the control group. The frequency of MS in the lichen planus group was found to be significantly higher than that in the control group (P = .03). The incidence of acanthosis nigricans (AN) was statistically higher in the LP group (P = .009). In addition, while 38 of 47 AN patients in the LP group had MS, 17 of 61 patients without AN had MS, and the presence of MS was found significantly higher in LP patients with AN (p˂0.001). The incidence of acrochordon was statistically higher in the LP group (P = .03). In addition, while 43 of 62 patients with acrochordon in the LP group had MS, 12 of 46 patients without acrochordon had MS, and the presence of MS was found significantly higher in patients with LP with acrochordon (P ˂ .001).

In our study, it was found that skin findings such as AN and acrochordon increased in patients with lichen planus. This increase was also observed in lichen planus patients with metabolic syndrome. Therefore, the association of acanthosis nigricans and acrochordon may be a predictive of metabolic syndrome in patients with lichen planus admitted to the dermatology outpatient clinic.