Accuracy of bioelectrical impedance analysis and skinfold thickness in the assessment of body composition in people with chronic spinal cord injury

Yiming Ma, Sonja de Groot, Peter J. M. Weijs, Wendy Achterberg, Jacinthe Adriaansen, Thomas W. J. Janssen

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

190 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Study design
Cross-sectional study.

Objectives
This study: (1) investigated the accuracy of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and skinfold thickness relative to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in the assessment of body composition in people with spinal cord injury (SCI), and whether sex and lesion characteristics affect the accuracy, (2) developed new prediction equations to estimate fat free mass (FFM) and percentage fat mass (FM%) in a general SCI population using BIA and skinfolds outcomes.

Setting
University, the Netherlands.

Methods
Fifty participants with SCI (19 females; median time since injury: 15 years) were tested by DXA, single-frequency BIA (SF-BIA), segmental multi-frequency BIA (segmental MF-BIA), and anthropometry (height, body mass, calf circumference, and skinfold thickness) during a visit. Personal and lesion characteristics were registered.

Results
Compared to DXA, SF-BIA showed the smallest mean difference in estimating FM%, but with large limits of agreement (mean difference = −2.2%; limits of agreement: −12.8 to 8.3%). BIA and skinfold thickness tended to show a better estimation of FM% in females, participants with tetraplegia, or with motor incomplete injury. New equations for predicting FFM and FM% were developed with good explained variances (FFM: R2 = 0.94; FM%: R2 = 0.66).

Conclusions
None of the measurement techniques accurately estimated FM% because of the wide individual variation and, therefore, should be used with caution. The accuracy of the techniques differed in different subgroups. The newly developed equations for predicting FFM and FM% should be cross-validated in future studies.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)228-236
Number of pages9
JournalSpinal cord
Volume60
Issue number3
Early online date12 Aug 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2022

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Accuracy of bioelectrical impedance analysis and skinfold thickness in the assessment of body composition in people with chronic spinal cord injury'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this