Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Vanderbilt Translational and Clinical Cardiovascular Research Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Vasc Med. 2024 Feb;29(1):36-41. doi: 10.1177/1358863X231202769. Epub 2023 Oct 16.
National survey data exploring the patient experience with lipedema are lacking.
We conducted national surveys from 2016 to 2022 of women with lipedema as well as female controls. Surveys collected information on symptomatology, pain, and therapies. We performed logistic regression comparing symptoms among those with lipedema versus controls adjusting for age and BMI.
A total of 707 women with lipedema and 216 controls completed the surveys. Those with lipedema had a mean age of 48.6 years and mean BMI of 40.9 kg/m. Lipedema symptom onset occurred frequently at puberty (48.0%) or pregnancy (41.2%). Compared to controls, women with lipedema were more likely to report leg swelling in heat (odds ratio [OR], 66.82; 95% CI, 33.04-135.12; < 0.0001), easy bruising (OR, 26.23; 95% CI, 15.58-44.17; < 0.0001), altered gait (OR, 15.54; 95% CI, 7.58-31.96; < 0.0001), flu-like symptoms (OR, 12.99; 95% CI, 4.27-39.49; < 0.0001), joint hypermobility (OR, 12.88; 95% CI, 6.68-24.81; < 0.0001), cool skin (OR, 12.21; 95% CI, 5.20-28.69; < 0.0001), varicose veins (OR, 11.29; 95% CI, 6.71-18.99; < 0.0001), and fatigue (OR, 9.59; 95% CI, 6.10-15.09; < 0.0001). Additionally, 70.3% had upper arm involvement, 21.2% reported foot swelling, and 16.6% reported foot pain. Most (52.2%) reported no symptom improvement with diet or exercise. Common therapies used included compression therapy (45.0%), gastric bypass (15.7%), and lower-extremity liposuction (14.0%).
In a large, national, symptom survey, women with lipedema reported excess pain, swelling, and fat in the legs along with numerous symptoms beyond those classically described. Symptom responses to common therapies remain understudied.
缺乏探索脂肪水肿患者体验的全国性调查数据。
我们在 2016 年至 2022 年期间对脂肪水肿患者和女性对照组进行了全国性调查。调查收集了症状、疼痛和治疗信息。我们通过逻辑回归比较了脂肪水肿患者与对照组之间的症状，调整了年龄和 BMI。
共有 707 名脂肪水肿患者和 216 名对照组完成了调查。脂肪水肿患者的平均年龄为 48.6 岁，平均 BMI 为 40.9kg/m。脂肪水肿症状通常在青春期（48.0%）或妊娠（41.2%）时出现。与对照组相比，脂肪水肿患者在热天时腿部肿胀的可能性更大（比值比 [OR]，66.82；95%置信区间 [CI]，33.04-135.12； < 0.0001），容易瘀伤（OR，26.23；95%CI，15.58-44.17； < 0.0001），步态改变（OR，15.54；95%CI，7.58-31.96； < 0.0001），流感样症状（OR，12.99；95%CI，4.27-39.49； < 0.0001），关节过度活动（OR，12.88；95%CI，6.68-24.81； < 0.0001），皮肤发凉（OR，12.21；95%CI，5.20-28.69； < 0.0001），静脉曲张（OR，11.29；95%CI，6.71-18.99； < 0.0001），疲劳（OR，9.59；95%CI，6.10-15.09； < 0.0001）。此外，70.3%的患者上肢受累，21.2%的患者报告足部肿胀，16.6%的患者报告足部疼痛。大多数（52.2%）报告饮食和运动没有改善症状。常用的治疗方法包括压迫治疗（45.0%）、胃旁路手术（15.7%）和下肢脂肪抽吸术（14.0%）。
在一项大型的全国性症状调查中，脂肪水肿患者报告腿部疼痛、肿胀和脂肪过多，以及许多超出经典描述的症状。常见治疗方法的症状反应仍有待研究。
