Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Patients Followed Up with a Diagnosis of Lipedema

ABS TRACT Objective:The aim of this study was to identify the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with lipedema who presented to our outpatient clinic in orum, thereby contributing to defining the lipedema case profile in our country.Material and Methods: We included 80 female patients diagnosed with lipedema at the physical medicine and rehabilitation outpatient clinic of our hospital between January 2020-July 2023.Data on age, body mass index (BMI), lipedema type-stage, and symptoms were collected from medical records.Laboratory evaluations, including hemogram, 25-OH vitamin D, vitamin B12, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and lower limb venous doppler ultrasound results were also obtained from medical records.Results: The mean age was 46.469.72 years and BMI was 32.124.84.Type 2 lipedema was the most common, followed by Type 1 and Type 3. Stage 2 lipedema was seen in 63.8% of the patients, stage 1 in 21.2%, and stage 3 in 15%.Common symptoms included pain, swelling, fatigue, and leg heaviness.The mean CRP was 4.882.89mg/L, ESR was 18.5810.06mm/h, 25-OH vitamin D was 18.7312.95ng/dl, and vitamin B12 was 359.74155.12pg/ml.Venous insufficiency was present in 50% of the patients.Lipedema stage showed significant positive correlations with age (r: 0.284, p: 0.011), BMI (r: 0.307, p: 0.006), and ESR (r: 0.271, p: 0.015).Conclusion: Patients presenting with swelling and pain in the lower limbs should always be assessed for lipedema, and it should also be considered that venous insufficiency and vitamin deficiencies may coexist in these patients.