Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) patients with risk factors, signs, or symptoms of diabetes mellitus (DM) should be screened, according to a recent study. A cross-sectional analysis identifying DM among HS and non-HS patients from a demographically heterogeneous population-based sample of >50 million patients in the US found:

• Overall prevalence of DM among HS patients was 24.8% (10,705/43,105), compared to 15.6% (1,993,320/12,527,570) among patients without HS.
• Prevalence was greatest among HS patients who were male (3,045/10,785; 28.2%), older (1,945/3,950; 49.2%), non-white (4,665/17,495; 26.7%), obese (9,065/30,855; 29.4%), tobacco smokers (6,880/25,005; 27.5%), hypertensive (8,595/19,610; 43.8%), and hyperlipidemic (7,965/17,190; 46.3%).
• In univariable and multivariable analyses, HS patients had 1.75 and 1.58 times the odds, respectively, of having DM.
• HS was associated with DM across all demographic subgroups; the association was stronger for younger patients (OR 1.67 for ages 18-44 years, vs OR 1.50 for ages >65 years).