Skin Before the Scale: Acanthosis Nigricans and Acrochordons Expose Cardiometabolic Risk Beyond BMI in Adolescents
- 1Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy (DVL), Father Colombo Institute of Medical Sciences, Warangal.
- 2Associate Professor, department of Paediatrics, GSL Medical College, Rajahmundry
Abstract
Background: Body mass index may fail to identify adolescents with occult cardiometabolic abnormalities. Acanthosisnigricans and acrochordons may provide externally visible indicators of insulin resistance and metabolic risk.Methods: This prospective analytical study included 180 adolescents aged 10–18 years, comprising 90 with acanthosisnigricans and/or acrochordons and 90 controls. Dermatological examination, anthropometry, blood pressure, fasting glucose, HbA1c and lipid profile were assessed. The triglyceride-glucose index was calculated. Multivariable logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses evaluated predictors of clustered cardiometabolic abnormalities.Results: Cardiometabolic abnormalities were present in 44.4% of adolescents with cutaneous markers versus 20.0% of controls (p<0.001). Among normal-BMI participants, marker-positive adolescents had significantly higher glucose, HbA1c, triglycerides, TyG index, waist-to-height ratio and systolic blood pressure and lower HDL-C. At least two abnormalities occurred in 50.0% versus 14.5%, respectively (p<0.001). Cutaneous markers independently predicted cardiometabolic risk (adjusted OR 2.74; 95% CI 1.31–5.73). TyG achieved an AUC of 0.79, while the combined model achieved 0.86.Conclusion: Cutaneous metabolic markers may identify cardiometabolic risk beyond BMI and facilitate targeted screening of apparently normal-weight adolescents.
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BibTeX
@article{naidu2026skin,
title = {{Skin Before the Scale: Acanthosis Nigricans and Acrochordons Expose Cardiometabolic Risk Beyond BMI in Adolescents}},
author = {Panduri Deepthi Naidu and Manasa Gundapaneni and Sangem Sagarika},
journal = {Journal of Medicine, Pharmacology and Medical Devises Technology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.67170/jmmdt.2026.v2i10.004},
url = {https://jmmdt.jcpublications.in/article/skin-before-the-scale-acanthosis-nigricans-and-acrochordons-expose-cardiometabolic-risk-beyond-bmi-in-adolescents},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Skin Before the Scale: Acanthosis Nigricans and Acrochordons Expose Cardiometabolic Risk Beyond BMI in Adolescents
AU - Panduri Deepthi Naidu
AU - Manasa Gundapaneni
AU - Sangem Sagarika
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Journal of Medicine, Pharmacology and Medical Devises Technology
DO - 10.67170/jmmdt.2026.v2i10.004
UR - https://jmmdt.jcpublications.in/article/skin-before-the-scale-acanthosis-nigricans-and-acrochordons-expose-cardiometabolic-risk-beyond-bmi-in-adolescents
AB - Background: Body mass index may fail to identify adolescents with occult cardiometabolic abnormalities. Acanthosisnigricans and acrochordons may provide externally visible indicators of insulin resistance and metabolic risk.Methods: This prospective analytical study included 180 adolescents aged 10–18 years, comprising 90 with acanthosisnigricans and/or acrochordons and 90 controls. Dermatological examination, anthropometry, blood pressure, fasting glucose, HbA1c and lipid profile were assessed. The triglyceride-glucose index was calculated. Multivariable logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses evaluated predictors of clustered cardiometabolic abnormalities.Results: Cardiometabolic abnormalities were present in 44.4% of adolescents with cutaneous markers versus 20.0% of controls (p<0.001). Among normal-BMI participants, marker-positive adolescents had significantly higher glucose, HbA1c, triglycerides, TyG index, waist-to-height ratio and systolic blood pressure and lower HDL-C. At least two abnormalities occurred in 50.0% versus 14.5%, respectively (p<0.001). Cutaneous markers independently predicted cardiometabolic risk (adjusted OR 2.74; 95% CI 1.31–5.73). TyG achieved an AUC of 0.79, while the combined model achieved 0.86.Conclusion: Cutaneous metabolic markers may identify cardiometabolic risk beyond BMI and facilitate targeted screening of apparently normal-weight adolescents.
SN - 3108-2866
ER -