Objective: To determine the prevalence of acanthosis nigricans (AN) and other diabetes risk factors in urban school health clinics.
Methods: During the period 2006-2009 nurse practitioners (NPs) screened students who had a BMI ≥ 95th percentile and 1 additional diabetes risk factor. Blood glucose (BG) was measured by finger stick. NPs were trained on how to ascertain the presence of AN on the neck area.
Results: NPs screened 854 students (mean age 11.4 years, 60.5% female, and 73.3% black). AN and elevated BG were found among 26% and 6.4% of students, respectively. Females and minorities were respectively 50% and 4 times more likely to have AN. Youth with AN were twice as likely to have elevated glucose.
Conclusion: AN can be easily identified by trained health care professionals even in busy school-based clinic settings. Checking for AN and appropriate education and counseling should become a routine part of electronic documentation in overweight youth.