Acrochordons and autoimmunity: Significance of preconceptional counseling.

BACKGROUND Acrochordons are benign hypertrophic lesions of the skin of which the pathophysiology is unclear. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the association of acrochordons with autoimmune disorders in patients with a poor obstetric history. METHODS This retrospective cohort involved 350 female patients with poor obstetric history who were included in a preconceptional care program to investigate risk factors for obstetric complications. These patients were further investigated for the co-existence of autoimmune disorders (defined by either a diagnosis of autoimmune diseases or autoimmune antibody positivity) and acrochordons. RESULTS An autoimmune disorder was present in 55.7% (195/350) of the patients. The rate of acrochordons was significantly higher in patients with autoimmune disorders (n= 195) compared to the control group (n= 155) (8.21% versus 2.58%, respectively) (p= 0.043). When the autoimmune disease positive (n= 58) and autoimmune antibody-positive (n= 137) groups were separately analyzed, acrochordons were found more frequently in the autoimmune disease group (p= 0.004). However, there was no statistically significant co-occurrence of autoimmune antibody positivity and the presence of skin tags (p= 0.135). CONCLUSION There may be immune system-related biological mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of acrochordons. Preconceptional counseling is beneficial for women with poor obstetric history and acrochordons.