Background: Obesity is associated with a wide spectrum of cutaneous manifestations arising through metabolic, mechanical and inflammatory mechanisms. Data from rural Indian adult populations remain limited. Objectives: To document the spectrum and frequency of cutaneous manifestations among adults with overweight and obesity attending a rural tertiary care centre, and to examine their associations with demographic and clinical variables. Methods: Hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted at Dermatology Department of, KBN Hospital, Kalaburagi, from December 2023 to June 2024. Adults with BMI of 23 kgm² or more were enrolled by consecutive sampling. Conditions that independently cause skin changes were excluded. All participants underwent a detailed dermatological examination. Association of skin manifestations with gender and duration of excess weight was assessed. Results: 127 participants were enrolled with mean age of 37.1 years and mean BMI of 28.6 kgm². The common findings were striae distensae (63.0), acanthosis nigricans (62.2), skin tags (57.5), fungal infections (53.5) and intertrigo (52.0). Hirsutism was significantly more common in females (36.1 vs 6.1, p 0.0001). AN was significantly associated with duration of excess weight (p 0.0002). Duration was the only independent predictor of AN after adjusting for age, sex and BMI, with patients exceeding ten years had the highest odds. Conclusion: In adults with overweight and obesity were striae distensae, acanthosis nigricans, skin tags, fungal infections and intertrigo were the most frequently observed conditions. Duration of excess weight independently predicts AN regardless of BMI, age and sex, highlighting the need for early metabolic evaluation in this population.
Javed et al. (Sat,) studied this question.