NCT07427745

SMOKING AND PRESENCE OF FRANK'S SIGN

PRESENCE OF FRANK'S SIGN: A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION IN SMOKERS AND NON-SMOKERS

• Status: Completed
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 404 (actual)
• Sponsor: Samsun University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 40 Years – 59 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

In this study, the effect of cigarette smoking-one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases-on the development of Frank's sign (DELC) was investigated. Rather than smoking status alone, cumulative smoking exposure was considered to cause vascular damage and thereby influence the formation of DELC. Consequently, these findings may enable family physicians and other clinicians to approach patients rapidly and non-invasively within the framework of preventive medicine.

Conditions

• Smoking ( Cigarette)
• Cardiovascular Disease

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	To obtain bilateral ear photographs	Digital photographs obtained from both ears in a well-lit environment were evaluated by the study researchers. The presence of Frank's sign and its staging according to the Modified Patel-Lopez classification were confirmed by a positive assessment from at least two researchers
OTHER	To take a medical history	The participants' sociodemographic data, histories of chronic diseases, medication use, family histories, and smoking habits were recorded by the researchers via face-to-face interviews (average duration: 5 min)

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-09-01
• Primary completion: 2025-03-01
• Completion: 2025-05-06
• First posted: 2026-02-23
• Last updated: 2026-02-23

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)