Ethnic and gender differences in skin auto-fluorescence

Background: The AGE reader is a non-invasive device that measures tissue accumulation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) through skin auto-fluorescence (AF) and gives prediction of cardiovascular risk. For the risk prediction, the AGE reader uses a single reference curve, for both females and males, obtained from Caucasian subjects. Based on these reference curves, clinical cut-offs for a low, medium and high AF have been made. This study examines whether these reference values can be used for ethnic populations seen in Qatar. Furthermore, we assess whether gender and smoking affect skin AF in this particular population. Methods: Skin AF was measured in 200 Arabs, 99 South Asians and 35 Filipinos. Using multivariate linear regression analysis and adjusting for the covariates age and the presence of type 2 diabetes, we assessed whether ethnicity, smoking and gender were associated with skin AF. Results: The Arabs and the Filipinos had a significant higher skin AF then the South Asian population (0.272 (95% CI: 0.138, 0.406), p