Association of Skin Tag with Metabolic Syndrome and its Components: A Case–control Study from Eastern India

BACKGROUND: Skin tags are benign polyps, usually found in the natural folds of the skin. Some studies have found an association of skin tags with obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and atherogenic lipid profile. Metabolic syndrome refers to co-occurrence of these cardiovascular risk factors such as insulin resistance, obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To find out any possible association of skin tags with metabolic syndrome and its components. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case–control study was conducted including 140 participants. Seventy patients with skin tags were considered cases, and 70 age- and sex-matched patients without skin tags were considered as controls. Various anthropometric and biochemical parameters were compared and analyzed between the two groups. RESULTS: Univariate analysis revealed significantly higher waist circumference, high triglyceride, and low high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) in cases compared to controls. The prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome was significantly higher in patients with skin tags, and risk of developing metabolic syndrome was 11.13 times higher in cases compared to controls (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed high waist circumference and low serum HDL had significant association with skin tags. CONCLUSION: Risk of development of metabolic syndrome is significantly higher in patients with skin tags. Among the various components of metabolic syndrome, only high waist circumference and low serum HDLs are significantly associated with skin tags.