Assessment and Predictors of Metabolic Syndrome in Patients of Xanthelasma Palpebrarum: An Observational Study

Xanthelasma palpebrarum is considered to be a cutaneous marker for cardiovascular diseases, and there is a known association with hypertension, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and stroke.

Our aim was to study the association and identify the predictors of metabolic syndrome in patients with xanthelasma palpebrarum.

An observational study was conducted on 55 patients in which patients of both sexes ages 20-70 years without any other skin condition were included after written informed consent. After history and examination, blood pressure and waist circumference were measured in all the subjects. Investigations were sent for fasting blood sugar levels and serum lipid profile. The 2006 IDF Definition of metabolic syndrome was used as assessment criteria.

Among the 55 patients, metabolic syndrome was present in 23 patients (41.82%). There was a statistically significant (P<0.05) difference in the values of waist circumference (100% vs. 59.38%, P=0.0003), elevated blood pressure (82.61% vs. 9.38%, P<.0001), raised fasting blood sugar (47.83% vs. 18.75%, P=0.021), and raised triglyceride levels (56.52% vs. 25%, P=0.018) between patients with metabolic syndrome and those without. However, HDL cholesterol levels (34.78% vs. 50%, P=0.262) were comparable between groups. Also, a patient aged 41 years or more with even a single xanthelasma of more than one year's duration has a 76.1% chance of developing metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome develops in a sizeable number of xanthelasma palpebrarum patients, and this therefore gives us an opportunity for early diagnosis and intervention to prevent the development of cardiovascular complications.