Hidradenitis suppurativa and diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The relationship between hidradenitis suppurativa and diabetes mellitus is not well understood.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of diabetes mellitus between patients with and without hidradenitis suppurativa.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, which included primary observational studies that reported the prevalence of diabetes mellitus among patients with hidradenitis suppurativa in the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, LILACS, and Scielo databases from 1947 to June 13, 2017. A random effects model for pooled odds ratio was used for data analysis. Publication bias was assessed by funnel plot and the Egger test.

Results: The systematic review included 107,050 patients from 14 studies; the meta-analysis included 104,373 patients from 7 studies. On the basis of meta-analysis, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 10.6% in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa and 3.8% in patients without hidradenitis suppurativa. Compared with the general population, patients with hidradenitis suppurativa were nearly 3 times more likely to have diabetes mellitus (pooled odds ratio, 2.78; 95% confidence interval, 1.79-4.31).

Limitations: We were restricted by the quantity and quality of available data.

Conclusion: Hidradenitis suppurativa is significantly associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus.