Objective: To observe the relationship of childhood benign acanthosis nigricans to anthropometric and metabolic indexes, with the aim of studying the association between childhood benign acanthosis nigricans and metabolic diseases.
Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 29 children who presented with benign acanthosis nigricans between February 2007 and October 2011. Thirty-two age, sex- and ethnic-matched normal children were selected as control group. The two groups were compared according to obesity (body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, body fat content and body fat percentage) and metabolic indexes (blood glucose, insulin level and blood lipids).
Results: Body mass index, body fat content, body fat percentage, waist-to-hip ratio, fasting blood glucose, insulin level and triglyceride in the 29 patients with benign acanthosis nigricans were higher than in the control group (P<0.05), but the level of high-density lipoprotein in the 29 patients was lower than in the control group (P<0.05). Of the 29 patients, 16 had impaired glucose tolerance and 3 were diagnosed with diabetes (1 case with type 1, two cases with type 2).
Conclusions: Childhood benign acanthosis nigricans is closely associated with obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia.