Major Finding: The prevalence of diabetes was 21% among patients with recurrent cellulitis compared with 6% in controls.
Data Source: A retrospective study in which 398 Finns treated for recurrent cellulitis in the year 2000 were compared with a nationally representative control group of 8,005 Finns without a history of cellulitis.
Disclosures: Dr. Karppelin said he had no conflicts of interest.
VIENNA — Diabetes is a risk factor for recurrent cellulitis independent of obesity and advanced age, according to a Finnish case-control study.
The incidence of bacterial cellulitis is reportedly increasing in many countries. The growing prevalence of type 2 diabetes coupled with the obesity epidemic and the graying of the population may be important contributors to the problem, Dr. Matti Karppelin observed at the congress.
Prior case-control studies, including one led by Dr. Karppelin (Clin. Microbiol. Infect. 2009; 16:729-34) have identified obesity but not diabetes as being linked to increased rates of acute and recurrent bacterial nonnecrotizing cellulitis. Because that study included a mere 44 patients presenting with recurrent cellulitis, Dr. Karppelin and his colleagues decided to take another look at the diabetes question in a much larger patient population.
The Finnish investigators retrospectively identified 398 Finns who were treated for recurrent cellulitis in the year 2000 and compared them with a nationally representative control group of 8,005 Finns who did not have a history of cellulitis.
The patients who had recurrent cellulitis were a median of 65 years old, 59% were women, and the group had a mean body mass index of 32.1 kg/m
Of particular interest, the prevalence of diabetes was 21% among patients with recurrent cellulitis compared with 6% in controls.
In a multivariate analysis, diabetes was associated with a 69% increased risk of recurrent cellulitis independent of advanced age or obesity, according to Dr. Karppelin of the University of Tampere, Finland.