Comparison of Body Composition Bio Electrical Impedance Analysis of Type-1 Diabetes vs. Non-Diabetes in Children and Adolescent

Abstract

Background: Analyzing the body composition of children and adolescents with diabetes is becoming more and more popular. For managing weight changes that may emerge from treatment and evaluating treatment response, it is essential to comprehend the body composition of diabetic children. Objective: To compare body composition by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) among T1DM versus healthy children and adolescents in Pakistan. Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study was performed during Jan-March, 2023. Type 1 diabetic children and adolescents were enrolled from the pediatric endocrinology outpatient clinic of the National Institute of Child Health whereas healthy children and adolescents were enrolled from a nearby school to the hospital location. Evaluation of anthropometry indices and bioelectrical impedance analysis was performed after obtaining the consent of parents. Results: A total of 100 subjects were enrolled in the study, 50 each in the diabetic and healthy group. The mean age of participants was 10.4 ± 2.4 years. The majority of study subjects were females (61%). The mean duration of T1DM was 4.7 ± 0.8 years. Height (127.4 ± 11.7 versus 139.5 ± 15, p<0.001), Waist-hip ratio (0.8 ± 0.1 versus 0.7± 0.3, p=0.037) and resistance (686.2 ± 90.7 versus 651.1 ± 96.6, p=0.002) were significantly higher among T1DM group than healthy group. Percentage of muscle mass (45.1 ± 8.2 versus 50.3 ± 7.6, p=0.008), body cell mass (47.1 ± 3.8 versus 50.6 ± 4.5, p=0.045), reactance (56.3 ± 9.8 versus 62.4 ± 4.2, p=0.017) and phase angle (4.3 ± 0.9 versus 5.7 ± 0.6, p=0.012) were significantly lower in T1DM patients than healthy individuals. Conclusion: BIA analysis showed that body composition parameters and body functional status were lower among T1DM children and adolescents than in the healthy group in terms of resistance, reactance, and phase angle.