Ultrasonographic measurement of skin and subcutaneous thickness at insulin injection sites among adult Filipinos with diabetes / Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies

ABSTRACT

Objectives@#To determine the skin and subcutaneous thickness of adult diabetic Filipinos using ultrasonography. @*Methodology@#We studied 293 Filipino diabetic adults who had ultrasonographic measurements of their skin thickness (ST) and subcutaneous thickness (SCT) at common insulin injection sites.@*Results@#The mean ST ranges from 1.76 mm to 2.75mm. The mean SCT ranges from 6.91 mm to 19.1 mm. The anterior thigh area has the thinnest mean ST and SCT. On the other hand, the buttocks have the thickest mean ST and area of abdomen has the thickest mean SCT. On multiple regression analysis, the predictors for skin thickness are injection site, age, BMI, gender and insulin use, however the overall influence of all these factors on skin thickness is variable at best. @*Conclusion@#Skin thickness among Filipinos varies marginally depending on injection site being thickest at the buttocks and thinnest at the thighs. On the other hand, there is greater variability in SCT depending on the injection site, being thickest at the abdominal area and thinnest at the anterior thigh.