Table 2 Inflammatory reaction (score 0 to III) in fat biopsies and intra- and intergroup differences.

Dercum

Painful abdomen (n = 41)

11 (27)

14 (34)

16 (39)

-

Painful knee (n = 47)

11 (23)

21 (45)

14 (30)

1 (2)

Non-painful area (n = 28)

8 (29)

14 (50)

6 (21)

-

Obese controls

Abdomen (n = 41)

12 (29)

15 (37)

12 (29)

2 (5)

Knee (n = 41)

10 (24)

13 (32)

16 (39)

2 (5)

Normal weight controls

Knee (n = 11)

6 (55)

5 (45)

-

-

Differences between groups (p-value)

Dercum vs. Obese controls - abdomen

0.022

Dercum vs. Obese controls - knee

0.33

Dercum vs. Normal weight controls - knee

0.81

Obese vs. Normal weight controls - knee

< 0.001

Dercum - painful abdomen vs. Dercum - non-painful abdomen¹

0.4

Dercum - painful knee vs. Dercum - non-painful knee²

0.5