Body composition assessment in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients over 15 years old.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the anthropometric characteristics and body composition in type 1 diabetic patients and compare the results with a randomly selected control population. We studied 75 type 1 diabetic patients, 43 male and 32 female, recruited from consecutive diagnosed type 1 diabetic patients attending the Endocrine Unit and treated with a intensive insulin regimen, and 93 control subjects, 44 males and 49 females representative of the census of this city. We performed a dietary recall in patients and determined anthropometric characteristics, both in patients and controls, body weight, height, body-mass index, waist-hip ratio and body composition parameters: total body water, free-fat mass, body free-fat mass, fat mass and body fat by bioelectrical impedance analyser. In diabetic male patients, we observed lower waist-hip ratio than in controls, 0.84 +/- 0.06 vs. 0.88 +/- 0.07, p = 0.021, higher free-fat mass in female diabetic patients, 48.5 +/- 5.6 vs. 45.6 +/- 5.9 kg, p = 0.03, lower fat mass in male diabetic patients, 9.5 +/- 6.9 vs. 14.6 +/- 8.5 kg, p = 0.003. We did not find any correlation among the parameters of body composition and dietary macronutrient intake in patients. The present study exposes the differences in anthropometric characteristics and body composition in type 1 diabetes mellitus, especially lower waist-hip ratio in male, higher free-fat mass in female and lower fat mass in male.