Diabetes mellitus as a cause of skin lesions: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by high levels of intravascular glucose and low intracellular levels. Due to the oxidative stress mechanism involving advanced glycation products and other metabolic pathways, the disease affects the organism as a whole with cutaneous involvement being more emphatically addressed in this study. The study was developed through the systematic review of 93 scientific articles from the last 35 years in order to elucidate the main cutaneous complications of diabetes mellitus and what would be the best ways of approaching these patients by the aesthetics and cosmetology team. It was observed that the major complications associated with the disease are secondary skin infections (median 42.2%), which leads to a significant loss of quality of life for these patients, in addition to an imminent risk for future complications. It is concluded that as it is a chronic disease, the main role of the professional beautician and cosmetologist is to act in the prevention of these injuries with the use of adjuvant substances in order to avoid more compromising conditions.