Acanthosis Nigricans: A Risk Factor for Type II Diabetes

Abstract

This paper serves as a review of Type II diabetes and pre-diabetes and their associated risk factors: obesity, race, age, and family history of the disease. A new risk factor, Acanthosis Nigricans, is examined in ordinance with common diabetes risk factors, and correlations are drawn between its occurrence and Type II diabetes. Acanthosis Nigricans is a skin condition that can be non-invasively identified. With the current rise of diabetes and obesity in children and adults, finding an easily identifiable risk factor is pertinent for catching the disease in the pre-diabetic state before Type II diabetes is developed. The role of Community Health Workers in disease prevention and intervention was also examined. In our findings, Acanthosis Nigricans is indicative specifically of development of insulin resistance and is most often seen in Hispanic and Black populations. Decreases in physical activity and increases in food-insecure households puts children at higher risk of diabetes development than ever before. Community Health Workers serve as a critical link between families in low-income communities and adequate health education. With proper training, community health workers have the potential to help low-income families stop the development of Type II diabetes in their children before it begins.