Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the body composition and nutritional status of hospitalized pediatric patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes by using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) with phase angle (PA) calculation. PA is considered to be a useful and very sensitive indicator of the nutritional and functional status, and it has not yet been evaluated in such a population. Sixty-three pediatric patients aged 4 to 18 years, with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, were included in the study. The control group consisted of 63 healthy children and adolescents strictly matched by gender and age in a 1:1 case: control manner. In both groups, BIA with PA calculation was performed. Diabetic patients, in comparison to control subjects, had a highly significantly lower PA of 4.85 ± 0.86 vs. 5.62 ± 0.81, p < 0.001. They also demonstrated a lower percentage of body cell mass (BCM%), 46.89 ± 5.67% vs. 51.40 ± 4.19%, p < 0.001; a lower body cell mass index (BCMI), 6.57 ± 1.80% vs. 7.37 ± 1.72%, p = 0.004; and a lower percentage of muscle mass (MM%), 44.61 ± 6.58% vs. 49.40 ± 7.59%, p < 0.001, compared to non-diabetic controls. The significantly lower PA value in diabetic patients indicate their worse nutritional and functional status compared to healthy subjects. To assess the predictive and prognostic value of this finding in this population, further prospective studies involving larger sample of patients are required.
Highlights
Application of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to assess the body composition dates back to late 1980s [1]
It is the first study in such a group, as through searching Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases by use of the terms “type 1 diabetes mellitus” and “children”; combined with “body composition” or/and “phase angle”; “bioelectrical impedance analysis”, “type 1 diabetes mellitus”, and “children”; and combined with “nutritional status” and “phase angle”, we found only two full-text papers assessing the PA in diabetic patients, but both of them were conducted in adult populations [16,17].The search was limited to articles published in English from 1990 to 30 July 2018
The phase angle value in diabetic patients was highly significantly lower compared to healthy subjects
Summary
Application of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to assess the body composition dates back to late 1980s [1]. Growing up is associated with increasing phase angles, a situation that is probably due to an increase in cell mass with age, especially in periods of childhood and adolescence [9]. This trend was observed by Redondo-Del-Río et al for both genders (4–5 years: 5.2 vs 12–13 years: 5.7–5.8 vs 15–16 years: 6.1–6.5) [10]
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