Assessing the Prevalence of HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 in Lipedema Patients and the Potential Benefits of a Gluten-Free Diet

Alexandre C Amato; Lorena L Amato; Daniel Benitti; Juliana L Amato

doi:10.7759/cureus.41594

Assessing the Prevalence of HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 in Lipedema Patients and the Potential Benefits of a Gluten-Free Diet

Cureus. 2023 Jul 9;15(7):e41594. doi: 10.7759/cureus.41594. eCollection 2023 Jul.

Authors

Alexandre C Amato¹, Lorena L Amato², Daniel Benitti³, Juliana L Amato⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Vascular Surgery, Amato - Instituto de Medicina Avançada, Sao Paulo, BRA.
² Department of Endocrinology, Amato - Instituto de Medicina Avançada, São Paulo, BRA.
³ Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Medical Valens Center, São Paulo, BRA.
⁴ Department of Gynecology, Amato - Instituto de Medicina Avançada, São Paulo, BRA.

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 in women diagnosed with lipedema. Methods Leukocyte histocompatibility antigen (HLA) tests of 95 women diagnosed with lipedema were analyzed using non-probabilistic sampling for convenience. The prevalence of HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 was compared to the general population. Results The prevalence of HLA-DQ2+ was 47.4%, that of HLA-DQ8+ was 22.2%, the presence of any celiac disease associated HLA (HLA-DQ2+ or HLA-DQ8+) was 61.1%, both HLA (HLA-DQ2+ and HLA-DQ8+) was 7.4%, and the absence of celiac disease associated HLA was 39%. Compared to the general population, there was a significantly higher prevalence of HLA-DQ2, HLA-DQ8, any HLA, and both HLAs in lipedema patients. The mean weight of patients with HLA-DQ2+ was significantly lower than the overall study population, and their mean BMI significantly differed from the overall mean BMI. Conclusion Lipedema patients seeking medical assistance have a higher prevalence of HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8. Considering the role of gluten in inflammation, further research is needed to establish if this association supports the benefit of gluten withdrawal from the diet in managing lipedema symptoms.

Keywords: hla; hla-dq2; hla-dq8; lipedema; obesity.