Scalp Hair Metabolomics in Severe Obesity

NCT07368842 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: SGH_Hair01_2025
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this research study is to investigate how body weight and weight-loss surgery affect the natural chemicals found in scalp hair over time. We will also find out how common and severe hair thinning/hair loss and muscle loss are in the first 6 months after bariatric surgery.

Conditions

Obesity & Overweight; Hair Loss; Metabolomics; Bariatric Surgery

Keywords

obesity; hair loss; metabolomics; bariatric surgery

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Amino acid concentration

  Post-surgery changes in scalp hair amino acid concentration following bariatric surgery

  From enrollment to the end of study duration at 6 months

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Severity of hair loss

  From the time of enrolment until the end of the study at 6 months

• Scalp hair amino acid concentration (between groups)

  At the time of enrollment

• Grip strength

  From enrollment until the end of the study at 6 months

• Sit to stand speed

  From enrollment until study completion at 6 months

• Hair-specific Skindex-29 score

  From enrollment until study completion at 6 months

Study Arms (2)

Healthy controls

Healthy controls with normal weight

Severe obestiy

Participants with Severe obesity

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 21 Years - 70 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Subjects with severe obesity will be recruited from the Singapore General Hospital's obesity clinic, while controls will be healthy volunteers.

You may qualify if:

• All subjects:
• Age 21-70 years
• Ability to provide informed consent
• Healthy weight controls:
• BMI of 18.5-24.9 kg/m2
• No chronic disease
• No long-term medications
• Severe obesity:
• BMI of \> 32.5 kg/m2
• Scheduled to undergo bariatric surgery

You may not qualify if:

• Pregnancy
• Any factors likely to limit adherence to study protocol
• Any history of autoimmune or scarring alopecia (eg. alopecia areata, discoid lupus, lichen planopilaris)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Singapore General Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

Singapore General Hospital

Singapore, Singapore

RECRUITING

Biospecimen

Retention: SAMPLES WITHOUT DNA

hair samples

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Obesity; Overweight; Alopecia

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Hypotrichosis; Hair Diseases; Skin Diseases; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Anatomical

Study Officials

• Hong Chang Tan

  Singapore General Hospital

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Hong Chang Tan, MD PhD

CONTACT

+65 63214658; tan.hong.chang@singhealth.com.sg

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 20, 2026
• First Posted: January 27, 2026
• Study Start: February 7, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2028
• Last Updated: February 13, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share

Locations

SG (1)