Mucocutaneous Findings and Endocrinopathies in Children with Turner Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study aims to investigate the frequency of skin, hair, nail, and mucosal findings in children with Turner Syndrome (TS) and their associations with coexisting endocrinopathies.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 112 TS patients who were followed up by pediatric endocrinology and referred to the dermatology outpatient clinic. Data were collected using standardized dermatological examination forms, including demographic information, clinical features, presence of endocrinopathies, and medication usage. The SPSS software was used to evaluate differences between groups and to analyze relationships between variables.

Skin and hair findings were detected in 86.6% of the patients, with melanocytic nevi (44.6%) and xerosis (41.1%) being the most commonly observed. Oral mucosal findings were observed less frequently (17.0%). Nail findings were detected in 63.4% of the cases, with leukonychia (15.2%) and subungual hyperkeratosis (14.3%) being the most prevalent. Older age, delayed diagnosis, longer follow-up duration, and lower body mass index were associated with an increased frequency of skin and hair findings (p < 0.05). Additionally, the presence of coexisting endocrinopathies was significantly associated with skin and hair findings. Nail findings were significantly associated with longer follow-up duration (p = 0.002), the presence of endocrinopathies (p < 0.001), and comorbidities (p = 0.004).

This study revealed that skin, hair, and nail abnormalities are commonly observed in Turner Syndrome. The association of these findings with endocrinopathies suggests that systemic factors influence dermatological problems in TS. It is recommended to integrate dermatological evaluations into the routine endocrine and cardiological follow-up of children with Turner Syndrome.