Dermatoglyphics and Cheiloscopy Pattern in Hypertensive Patients; A Study in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria and Environs

Essential hypertension is sustained high blood pressure not attributable to a single cause but reflecting the interaction of multiple genetic and environmental influences. Dermatoglyphic involves the study of epidermal ridges present on the surface of palms, finger, soles and toes while cheiloscopy is the study of the grooves or furrows present on the vermilion border of the human lips. Finger and lip prints are known useful genetic markers in some congenital and clinical diseases; as such this study was aimed at determining the association between fingerprint and lip print patterns in hypertensive patients. The present study was carried out with hypertensive patients attending the outpatient clinic of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria and was compared with a control group with normal blood pressure. The subjects were 118 clinically diagnosed patients with hypertension and 126 subjects who were normotensives with no family history of hypertension. 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 prints were analyzed and results from obtained showed significant association between fingerprint patterns and hypertension in female subjects (p<0.001). The fingerprint patterns of male subjects did not show association with hypertension. The lip print patterns of both male and female subjects showed association with hypertension (p<0.001). In conclusion, the present study indicates association between finger and lip print pattern with hypertension in females subjects. While for the males there is no association between fingerprint patterns hypertension, but the lip print pattern showed association with hypertension.