Study Finds Link Between Skin Condition and Type II Diabetes in Children

According to Research Activities, published in November 2007 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), researchers from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine have determined that children and young adults who develop a skin condition called acanthosis nigricans (AN) have twice the risk of having type 2 diabetes.

Acanthosis nigricans, usually associated with obesity, is a skin condition that can affect a person at any age. Sometimes called "dirty neck," many people find it embarrassing. AN generally appears as a thickening and darkening of the skin in areas where the skin folds or creases, such as the back of the neck, under the arms, at the ankles, on the knuckles on the hands or in the groin. Although there can be other causes, it has been determined that people with AN are likely to also have diabetes. In fact, nearly 75 percent of kids with type 2 diabetes have AN, according to the American Diabetes Association.

In their study, Dr. Robert L. Williams and colleagues analyzed and compared diabetes risk factors, including family history and obesity, and the prevalence of AN. The 1,133 patients studied ranged in age from 7 to 39 years; 80 percent were ethnic minorities. Nearly 70 percent of all the patients had a family history of diabetes. Of the adults, more than 70 percent were either overweight or obese; more than 40 percent of the children were also either overweight or obese.

Of all 1,133 patients in the study, fewer than 22 percent had AN. However, those who did have AN had double the rate of diabetes when compared to the patients who did not have AN. The researchers were careful to control for age, body mass index and the number of type 2 diabetes risk factors of each patient. They also found that the more risk factors a patient had, regardless of age, the higher the prevalence of AN.

The patients were also looked at according to two age groups (7 to 19 and 20 to 39), both having more than two diabetes risk factors. Those patients in the younger group were over eight times more likely to have AN; those in the older group were four times more likely to have AN. Although this is concerning, it also offers doctors information and an opportunity to address lifestyle changes in those youngsters with AN, in an attempt to prevent, or at least reduce the risk of, developing type 2 diabetes.

Resources:

Research Activities

ADA; http://www.diabetes.org/youthzone/type2diabetes.jsp, http://www.ahrq.gov/research/nov07/1107RA8.htm