“Frank Sign” – A clinical indicator in the detection of coronary heart disease among dental patients: A case control study

Abstract

Background: The diagonal earlobe crease (DELC) has been proposed to be a marker of coronary heart disease (CHD), but this association remains controversial. Data available in Indian population seeking dental treatment are limited. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between DELC and CHD. Methods: This case–control study investigated 118 cases with CHD and 50 controls without CHD. Characteristic differences and the relation of DELC to CHD were assessed by Chi-square and Student's t-tests. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done to estimate the risk of various factors between cases and control. Results: The prevalence of DELC was 63.21% in cases and 26.79% in controls (<0.001). There was a significant correlation between DELC and coronary risk factors, such as advancing age, hypertension, male gender, and no correlation among DELC, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and smoking. Conclusion: The association between DELC and CHD patients was high in our study. The data suggest that the DELC sign may be a useful marker for early detection of CHD in dental patients.

Keywords

• Coronary artery disease
• coronary risk factors
• dental patients
• diagonal earlobe crease
• Frank's sign