Skin Autofluorescence Profile in Tunisian Subjects with and Without Metabolic Disorders

Abstract Background: The AGE Reader, as a clinical tool for non invasive assessment, measures the accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in skin tissues shown as skin autofluorescence (SAF). AGEs Accumulation has been implicated in several diseases. There is no data about SAF profile in Tunisian population, this study aimed to assess firstly SAF profile in subjects with and without metabolic disorders and secondly to examine the association between SAF and various clinical parameters.Methods: In a cross-sectional study, we included 220 participants between 19 and 86 years of age who were subdivided in two groups: a healthy group (n=93) and patients group with metabolic disorders (n=127) contains three subgroups as following: diabetic patients (n=32), hypertensive patients (n=54) and patients with both diabetes and hypertension (n=41). Skin AGEs accumulation was measured by AGE Reader and clinical data was obtained.Results: SAF was significantly higher in patients group compared to healthy group [2.40 AU (2.10-2.60) vs. 2.00 AU (1.70-2.10) respectively; P <0.001]. Diabetic patients and hypertensive patients showed an increased level of SAF. The highest of SAF was observed in patient with both coexistence of diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia. SAF was associated with age, gender, BMI, duration of diabetes, HbA1c, triglyceride and obesity. Multivariate analysis showed that age and duration of diabetes were independent determinant of SAF. The ROC analysis indicated that an SAF > 2.25 AU was optimal cut-off point to predict the presence of metabolic disorders (P <0.001). Conclusion: SAF was increased in patients with diabetes and/or with hypertension and dyslipidemia. AGE Reader device is a rapid and helpful tool in clinical practice for evaluating and screening metabolic disorders in undiagnosed subjects.