Dermatoglyphic and Cheiloscopic Patterns among Diabetic Patients: A Study in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria, Nigeria

Dermatoglyphics has proved to be a very useful tool used for identification of many gene-linked abnormalities and diseases. Lip prints which as dermatoglyphics are unique to individuals have also been shown to be a useful genetic marker in some congenital and clinical diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the association between finger and lip prints patterns and diabetes mellitus using subjects in Zaria, Nigeria. 277 were examined: 101 diabetics and 126 normal subjects. The digital dermatoglyphic patterns were studied using method of Cummins while the lip prints were identified and classified according to method of Suzuki and Tsuchihashi. The results show that there is an association between finger print patterns of males with diabetes mellitus. The lip prints pattern of male and female diabetics also shows association with diabetes mellitus. From the study we could conclude that male with arch pattern of finger print in their right hand are at risk of developing diabetes also males with reticular pattern of lip prints have a higher risk of developing diabetes whereas those with intersected pattern have lesser chance of coming down with the disease. The result also shows that females with undifferentiated type of lip prints are at higher risk of developing diabetes.