Earlobe Creases in a Cohort of Elderly Veterans

Abstract

Two‐hundred thirty‐four residents (220 male, 14 female) of a Veterans Administration Nursing Home and a Hospital Based Home Care program, 24–99 years old (mean 66), were examined for the presence (or absence) of earlobe creases and their correlation with cardiovascular disease. Unilateral or bilateral earlobe creases were found in 119 patients (55 unilateral, 64 bilateral), or 50.85 per cent. One hundred forty‐two patients had one or more forms of cardiovascular disease: 20 had coronary artery disease, 45 had cerebrovascular disease, 12 had peripheral vascular disease, 48 had atherosclerotic heart disease and/or hypertension, and 17 had “other” cardiovascular disease, mostly congestive heart failure. Seventy‐three of them (51.4 per cent) had earlobe creases. The rest—92 patients—had no clinically apparent cardiovascular disease, and the incidence of earlobe creases in this group was 50 per cent. Cross‐tabulation (chi square) and multivariate (stepwise logistic) regression analyses relating the presence (or absence) of earlobe creases to diagnosis, age, sex, smoking, body weight, height, blood pressure, serum cholesterol, glucose, urea nitrogen, creatinine, uric acid, calcium, phosphorus, albumin, and hemoglobin revealed no significant correlation between the presence of earlobe creases and any of the above parameters. Earlobe creases were present in about half the study group regardless of diagnosis, and only about half the patients with cardiovascular and coronary artery disease had earlobe creases. It was concluded that in our patient population earlobe creases were not specifically associated with cardiovascular disease, as they were associated about equally with both cardiovascular and noncardiovascular disease. Their significance in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease may be greater in a younger age group, because in the elderly these creases may occur as part of skin aging, and they may also accompany noncardiovascular diseases.

Diagonal earlobe crease and coronary artery disease in Iranian population: A marker for evaluating coronary risk

“…[5,17] However, some other studies have found no such associations and have concluded that the prevalence of ELCs probably increases with age, as does heart diseases. [18,19] Davis et al [12] reported that the sensitivity and specificity of ELC for detecting CAD were 60% and 48%, respectively, and ELC is not associated with CAD. Rhoads and Yano [20] also found no association between ELC and CAD in Japanese-Americans living in Hawaii.…”

Bilateral Diagonal Earlobe Crease and Coronary Artery Disease: A Significant Association

“…A few reports have dismissed the value of this sign as a marker of CAD. Some studies completely denied this association, and the others explained it as based solely on the increase in the prevalence of both ELC and CAD with advancing age [8, 9, 10, 11]. Overfield and Call [15] reported that ELC developed with age in healthy adults, and the frequency of occurrence of different earlobe shapes differs by race.…”

“…However, even studies using coronary angiograms to define CAD presented conflicting results, which could, in part, reflect differences in the criteria for the presence of CAD at angiography [2, 4, 8]. Most of the studies have shown an increased prevalence of ELC with advancing age, and some studies explained the relation between ELC and CAD with advancing age [10, 11, 21]. Miric et al [22]found that ELC indicates an additional risk for myocardial infarction in man below the age of 60 years, independent of age and other coronary risk factors.…”

“…Overfield and Call [15] reported that ELC developed with age in healthy adults, and the frequency of occurrence of different earlobe shapes differs by race. Most of the studies were based on clinical criteria for the diagnosis of CAD [8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14]or were only based on known risk factors for the disease [1, 5, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]. However, even studies using coronary angiograms to define CAD presented conflicting results, which could, in part, reflect differences in the criteria for the presence of CAD at angiography [2, 4, 8].…”

“…However, several reports have dismissed the value of this sign as a marker of CAD. Some studies completely denied this association, and the others explained it as based solely on the increase in the prevalence of both ELC and CAD with advancing age [8, 9, 10, 11]. The pathophysiologic link between the ELC and CAD has been difficult to ascertain.…”