Abstract:
Introduction :
Overweight and obesity are defined as excessive fat accumulation in the body.
There has been a significant rise in recent years. The cutaneous manifestations of
obesity emerge early in childhood and impose a risk of developing metabolic
diseases in the future.
Aims and objectives :
To assess the prevalence of different types of skin manifestations and its
correlation with HOMA-IR in overweight and obese paediatric population.
Materials and Methods :
This is a prospective study of seventy-eight pediatric individuals aged 5 to 18
years. Demographic details, clinical examination, photographs and BMI were
documented. HOMA-IR was estimated using serum fasting Insulin and glucose
levels and it was correlated with the cutaneous findings. Results :
Among 78 children, there were 49 males and 29 females with a mean age of 13.55
± 2.87 years. The most common cutaneous finding was acanthosis nigricans
(87.2%). The second most common finding was cutaneous infections, affecting
78.3% of the cases. Within these infections, 37.2% had dermatophyte infections, 7%
had bacterial infections, 3.8% had viral infections, and 2.6% had parasitic
infestations. Other observed cutaneous findings included striae (73.1%),
acrochordons (39.7%), acne (32.1%), xerosis (21.8%), keratosis pilaris (17.9%),
gynaecomastia (6.4%), and hirsutism (1.3%). These cutaneous manifestations were
more prevalent in individuals aged 10-15 years with a BMI >95th percentile and
HOMA-IR >2.6 suggesting a correlation between cutaneous findings and obesity.
Conclusion :
Overweight and Obesity is a major health problem and continues to rise in both
adult and pediatric population. It is implicated in a wide range of Cutaneous
lesions. Early identification along with lifestyle modifications can help to avoid
future risk and complications of metabolic diseases.
