Table. Salient Clinical and Biochemical Characteristics of the Study Cohort as Stratified by the NCSTN p.Val224_Thr227del Genotypea.
| Characteristic | Overall (n = 113) | NCSTN deletion absent (n = 99) | NCSTN p.Val224_Thr227del (n = 14) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex, No. (%) | ||||
| Female | 56 (49.6) | 47 (48.0) | 8 (57.1) | .58 |
| Male | 57 (50.4) | 52 (52.0) | 6 (42.9) | |
| Age of disease onset, y | 18 (9) | 18 (10) | 12 (7) | .001 |
| Diagnostic delay, y | 7 (15) | 7 (12) | 21 (34) | .001 |
| Current/previous smoker, No. (%) | 72 (64.0) | 64 (65.0) | 8 (57.1) | .52 |
| Prescribed biologic therapy, No. (%) | 17 (15.0) | 12 (12.1) | 5 (35.7) | .04 |
| History of HS surgery, No. (%) | 57 (50.4) | 48 (48.5) | 9 (64.3) | .21 |
| Pilonidal sinus disease, No. (%) | 45 (39.8) | 38 (38.4) | 7 (50.0) | .56 |
| Acne keloidalis nuchae, No. (%) | 7 (6.2) | 5 (5.1) | 2 (14.3) | .21 |
| Hurley severity (mild/moderate/severe), No. (%) | 52 (46.4)/44 (38.4)/17 (15.2) | 45 (45.0)/37 (37.4)/17 (17.2) | 5 (35.7)/6 (42.9)/3 (21.4) | .32 |
| IHS4 score | 4 (6) | 4 (5) | 6 (9) | .52 |
| Systolic BP, mm Hg | 132 (22) | 133 (21) | 127 (38) | .40 |
| Diastolic BP, mm Hg | 79 (15) | 80 (16) | 76 (17) | .22 |
| BMI | 31 (10.8) | 32 (11.5) | 25.5 (8) | .01 |
| Fasting plasma glucose level, mg/dL | 91.17 (15.67) | 90.90 (15.31) | 95.14 (16.75) | .58 |
| HbA1c, % of total blood | 5.6 (0.6) | 5.3 (0.7) | 5.4 (0.3) | .67 |
| C-reactive protein, mg/L | 4 (7.6) | 3.9 (7.2) | 4.7 (8.6) | .98 |
| Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mm/h | 14.5 (23) | 13 (22) | 29 (17) | .01 |
| Neutrophil:lymphocyte | 2.33 (0.99) | 2.32 (0.98) | 2.36 (0.78) | .60 |
| Platelet:lymphocyte | 135.29 (73.5) | 133.32 (61.74) | 181.29 (99.99) | .03 |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); HbA1c, hemoglobin A1c; HS, hidradenitis suppurativa; IHS4, International Hidradenitis Suppurativa Severity Score System.
SI conversion factors: To convert HbA1c to the proportion of total hemoglobin, multiply by 0.01; for glucose to mmol/L, multiply by 0.0555.
Quantitative variables are presented as medians (IQR), and categorical variables as percentages. At baseline, variant carriers were leaner, demonstrated a lower age of disease onset, greater diagnostic delay, and a higher likelihood of biological therapy. Deletion carriers exhibited a significantly higher platelet:lymphocyte ratio and erythrocyte sedimentation rate values. Quantitative variables are compared using the Mann-Whitney U test and categorical variables using the χ2 test.