Single-centre case-control study investigating the association between acanthosis nigricans, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in a young, overweight, UK population.

Objective: To determine the extent to which the presence of acanthosis nigricans confers additional risk for insulin resistance, in addition to obesity alone (body mass index, BMI) within a young, overweight, UK population.

Research Design And Methods: Retrospective data were collected to compare the degree of insulin resistance within a sample of 94 young people with acanthosis nigricans, and a matched cohort of 94 participants with obesity alone. Insulin resistance was assessed by fasting glucose, fasting insulin and Homeostatic Model Assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) score (a mathematical model derived to measure insulin resistance).

Results: The acanthotic and control group were well matched for age, BMI, BMI SDS and sex, although the groups were not matched for ethnicity. The acanthotic group showed a significantly greater median fasting insulin (215 pmol/L), mean fasting glucose (4.7 mmol/L) and median HOMA-IR score (6.4), compared with the control group (126 pmol/L, 4.5 mmol/L and 3.7, respectively). The presence of acanthosis nigricans as an indicator of insulin resistance was found to have a positive predictive value of 81% (within this study population).

Conclusion: Individuals with both acanthosis nigricans and obesity had significantly greater degrees of insulin resistance than individuals with obesity alone. The findings support the potential for acanthosis nigricans as a visible marker of type 2 diabetes in young people.