Does xanthelasma palpebrarum elevate dyslipedemia, CVD risk?

The presence of xanthelasma palpebrarum (XP), yellow bumps or plaques that appear on eyelids due to cholesterol deposits, does not seem to increase the rates of dyslipidemia or cardiovascular disease (CVD), suggests a study.

This case-control study was conducted at a single tertiary care centre and included 35,452 individuals (mean age 52.2 years, 69 percent male) who were examined at a medical screening institute from 2001 through 2020.

The authors reviewed medical records and extracted data on ophthalmic evaluations, blood test results, and systemic diagnoses. The study group consisted of patients with XP in at least one eye. A control group was established consisting of those without XP, matched by age and sex at a 10:1 ratio to allow robust statistical analysis.

Some 203 patients with XP (0.6 percent) and 2,030 matched controls were included in the analysis. Dyslipidemia prevalence did not significantly differ between the two groups (42 percent vs 46 percent; p=0.29), as did the use rates of statins, fibrates, or other cholesterol-lowering medications (48 percent vs 47 percent; p=0.88).

Lipid profiles were also comparable between patients with XP and controls, including total cholesterol (median 192 vs 187; p=0.093), high-density lipoprotein (median 47 vs 48; p=0.65), low-density lipoprotein (median 125 vs 120; p=0.17), and triglyceride levels (median 105 vs 111; p=0.16). Likewise, CVD rates did not significantly differ between groups (8.9 percent vs 10 percent; p=0.56).

In addition, the prevalence of related conditions, such as hypertension (23 percent vs 24 percent), diabetes mellitus (10 percent vs 14 percent), and history of cerebrovascular accident (1 percent vs 1.3 percent), were comparable between XP and control groups (p>0.05).

These findings question “the extent to which XP serves as an indicative marker for heightened systemic risk,” the authors said.