Obesity & OverweightNCT07368842
Scalp Hair Metabolomics in Severe Obesity
An observational study of Obesity & Overweight and Hair Loss, run by Singapore General Hospital at 1 site in Singapore.
Trial 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. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 21 to 70 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Obesity & Overweight, Hair Loss, Metabolomics
- How many people
- 60 participants
- Where
- 1 siteSingapore
- Study dates
- 7 Feb 2026to Feb 2028
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 21 to 70 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: Subjects with severe obesity will be recruited from the Singapore General Hospital's obesity clinic, while controls will be healthy volunteers.
Who may be able to join
- 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
Show all 10Show fewer
- No long-term medications
- Severe obesity:
- BMI of > 32.5 kg/m2
- Scheduled to undergo bariatric surgery
Who cannot join
- Pregnancy
- Any factors likely to limit adherence to study protocol
- Any history of autoimmune or scarring alopecia (eg. alopecia areata, discoid lupus, lichen planopilaris)
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Singapore1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Singapore General Hospital
Singapore
Hong Chang Tan, MD PhD, 6563214658, tan.hong.chang@singhealth.com.sg
About this study
Official title: Scalp Hair Metabolomics as a Novel Biomarker of Poor Metabolic Health in Individuals With Severe Obesity
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.
Read the detailed description
The investigators will recruit 30 subjects with severe obesity scheduled for bariatric surgery and 30 healthy-weight controls.
Following written informed consent, the investigators will collect the study subject's medical information, conduct a dietary and quality-of-life survey, take body measurements, obtain scalp photos, perform a hair-pull test, collect a hair sample, and conduct muscle strength testing. Controls will be assessed only at baseline. Those with severe obesity will return at 4 ± 2 weeks, 12 ± 4 weeks, and 26 ± 4 weeks following bariatric surgery to repeat the study procedures.
- Conditions
- Obesity & Overweight, Hair Loss, Metabolomics, Bariatric Surgery
- Keywords
- obesity, hair loss, metabolomics, bariatric surgery
- Medical subject headings
- Obesity, Overweight, Alopecia
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy controls | Healthy controls with normal weight | |
| Severe obestiy | Participants with Severe obesity |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Amino acid concentration
Post-surgery changes in scalp hair amino acid concentration following bariatric surgery
Measured: From enrollment to the end of study duration at 6 months
Secondary outcomes (5)
Severity of hair loss
The severity of hair loss is measured by quantifying the number of hairs lost during the hair pull test
Measured: From the time of enrolment until the end of the study at 6 months
Scalp hair amino acid concentration (between groups)
Differences in scalp hair amino acid concentration between controls and those with severe obesity
Measured: At the time of enrollment
Grip strength
The post-surgery changes in grip strength measured using handgrip dynamometer
Measured: From enrollment until the end of the study at 6 months
Sit to stand speed
Time taken to complete sit to stand test after bariatric surgery
Measured: From enrollment until study completion at 6 months
Hair-specific Skindex-29 score
Hair-specific Skindex-29 quality of life questionnaire score after bariatric surgery. scores ranging from 0 (no effect) to 100 (effect always experienced)
Measured: From enrollment until study completion at 6 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted27 Jan 2026
- Study start7 Feb 2026
- Primary completionFeb 2028 (estimated)
- Study completionFeb 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Obesity & OverweightStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Singapore General HospitalThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Singapore General Hospital
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Hong Chang Tan, Principal investigator, Singapore General Hospital
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07368842
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- SGH_Hair01_2025
- Status last verified
- Jan 2026
- First submitted
- 20 Jan 2026
- Last updated
- 13 Feb 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: All IPD that underlie results in a publication
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 13 Feb 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Scalp Hair Metabolomics as a Novel Biomarker of Poor Metabolic Health in Individuals With Severe Obesity
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07368842
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- SGH_Hair01_2025
- Conditions
- Obesity & Overweight, Hair Loss, Metabolomics, Bariatric Surgery
- Keywords
- obesity, hair loss, metabolomics, bariatric surgery
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Singapore General HospitalUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 7 Feb 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Feb 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Feb 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 27 Jan 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
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.
Detailed description
The investigators will recruit 30 subjects with severe obesity scheduled for bariatric surgery and 30 healthy-weight controls.
Following written informed consent, the investigators will collect the study subject's medical information, conduct a dietary and quality-of-life survey, take body measurements, obtain scalp photos, perform a hair-pull test, collect a hair sample, and conduct muscle strength testing. Controls will be assessed only at baseline. Those with severe obesity will return at 4 ± 2 weeks, 12 ± 4 weeks, and 26 ± 4 weeks following bariatric surgery to repeat the study procedures.
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy controls | – | –Healthy controls with normal weight |
| Severe obestiy | – | –Participants with Severe obesity |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 21 to 70 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- Subjects with severe obesity will be recruited from the Singapore General Hospital's obesity clinic, while controls will be healthy volunteers.
Key inclusion criteria (10 listed)
- Age 21-70 years
- Ability to provide informed consent
- BMI of 18.5-24.9 kg/m2
- No chronic disease
- No long-term medications
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Pregnancy
- Any factors likely to limit adherence to study protocol
- Any history of autoimmune or scarring alopecia (eg. alopecia areata, discoid lupus, lichen planopilaris)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Primary outcome
Amino acid concentration
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of study duration at 6 months
Post-surgery changes in scalp hair amino acid concentration following bariatric surgery
5 secondary outcomes
Severity of hair loss
Time frame: From the time of enrolment until the end of the study at 6 months
Scalp hair amino acid concentration (between groups)
Time frame: At the time of enrollment
Grip strength
Time frame: From enrollment until the end of the study at 6 months
Sit to stand speed
Time frame: From enrollment until study completion at 6 months
Hair-specific Skindex-29 score
Time frame: From enrollment until study completion at 6 months
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 13 Feb 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. All IPD that underlie results in a publication
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Hong Chang Tan principal investigator
Singapore General Hospital
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Obesity & Overweight and Hair Loss, run by Singapore General Hospital at 1 site in Singapore.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 10 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 13 Feb 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Singapore. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Hong Chang Tan, MD PhD (+65 63214658, tan.hong.chang@singhealth.com.sg), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Amino acid concentration (time frame: From enrollment to the end of study duration at 6 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 13 Feb 2026.