RT Journal Article
T1 Frank’s Sign and Cardiovascular Risk: An  Observational Descriptive Study
A1 Fernández Ascariz, Lucía
A1 Rivas Mundiña, Berta
A1 García Mato, Eliane
A1 Alonso Sampedro, Manuela
A1 Diz Dios, Pedro
A1 Limeres Posse, Jacobo
A1 González Quintela, Arturo
A1 Gude Sampedro, Francisco
A1 Diz Dios, Pedro
AB Purpose: This study was undertaken to analyze the relationship between the diagonal earlobe crease and the main indices of cardiovascular risk, considering the crease's anatomical variations.Methods: The study group consisted of 1050 adults residing in Spain. Participants underwent the following determinations: age, sex, body mass index, smoking habit, blood pressure, glycemia, glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and cardiovascular events. Cardiovascular risk was calculated applying the Framingham-Anderson equation, the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation equation, and the Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score calculator. Both earlobes were examined, recording diagonal earlobe crease presence, length and depth, and presence of accessory creases. Results were analyzed by using chi-square test, Student's t test, analysis of variance, and Mann-Whitney or Kruskal-Wallis tests. To extract the functions of cardiovascular risk, a script in R was created (https://cran.r-project.org/).Results: The estimated cardiovascular mortality risk was significantly higher in individuals who presented diagonal earlobe crease (P < .001). The number of individuals with moderate, high, or very high cardiovascular risk increased significantly as the presence of the crease increased (23.8% had no crease, 35.6% had unilateral creases, and 58% had bilateral creases; P < .001). The mean cardiovascular risk estimated was significantly higher for individuals with longest and deepest diagonal earlobe crease (P < .001 and P < .001, respectively), and with accessory creases (P < .001).Conclusions: The diagonal earlobe crease is independently associated with higher cardiovascular risk scores, especially when the crease is complete, bilateral, deep, and has accessory creases.
PB Elsevier
SN 0002-9343
YR 2023
FD 2023-09-19
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/39404
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/39404
LA eng
NO Fernández Ascariz L, Rivas Mundiña B, García Mato E, Limeres Posse J, Alonso Sampedro M, González Quintela A, Gude Sampedro F, Diz Dios P. Frank's Sign and Cardiovascular Risk: An Observational Descriptive Study. Am J Med. 2024 Jan;137(1):47-54. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2023.09.019. Epub 2023 Oct 12. PMID: 37832754.
DS Minerva
RD 23 abr 2026