The Relationship of Plasma Antioxidants and Serum Lipid Levels with Seborrheic Dermatitis (SD): A Case-Control Study

Evidences shows that the defect in the synthesis of some fatty acids can lead to seborrheic dermatitis and elevated serum lipids in lipophilic fungi activities. Epidemiologic reports suggest a relationship between antioxidant levels and serum liplds in a number of dermatitis. This study was carried out to determine the relationship between antioxidant levels of plasma and serum lipids with seborrheic dermatitis. Methods and Materials: In this case-control study 70 patients suffering from SD were compared with 70 healthy people as control group. The two groups had been matched in terms of age and sex. Lipid levels and plasma antioxidants were measured by FRAP (Ferric Reducing A Bility Of Plasma Assay) in both groups. In patients skin lesions samples were tested through web spread to confirm the diagnosis and severity of pityrosporum ovale. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS software, T-Test and Chi-Square tests. The mean level of cholesterol in treatment group (120.5+39.9 mg/dl) was higher than control group (166.5+39.1 mg/dl) and the mean triglyceride level in treatment group (138.1+65.3 mg/dl) was higher than control group (91.7+44.2 mg/dl), which were both statistically significant (p<0.001). No significant difference was observed between HDL cholesterol in treatment and control groups (p<0.177). However, the mean LDL level was higher in treatment group (143.5+37.6 mg/dl) than that of control group (106.3+35.6 mg/dl) which shows a significant difference (p<0.001). No significant difference was observed between the mean plasma antioxidants in treatment and control groups (p>0.05). The study findings suggest the relationship between SD with total cholesterol and triglyceride levels and blood plasma LDL. However, there was no association between SD and plasma antioxidant and HDL levels.