Body composition measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in patients who have undergone small-intestinal resection

Living Long With Short Bowel Syndrome: A Historical Case of Twenty-Nine Years of Living With Home Parenteral Nutrition

BACKGROUND

This paper traces the 29-year survival of Robert Thomas, who received home parenteral nutrition (PN), and contrasts his oral narrative with the clinical history of PN.

METHODS

Interviews, chart review, review of the literature, and historical analysis.

RESULTS

Bobby Thomas was part of an early group of patients scattered throughout the country who, with their medical team, provided the foundation for more successful survival with home PN. They learned together and taught numerous nutrition support clinicians the intricacies of patient management. The importance of the patient to the teaching function of new and experienced practitioners is highly critical. Patients like Robert Thomas gave practitioners firsthand evidence of both the tenacity of the human spirit and the complexity and difficulties of chronic illness and its treatments.

CONCLUSIONS

While Bobby struggled with the complications and difficulties that came with the disease and the treatment keeping him alive, his own experiences over 29 years, as told to his medical team during his treatment and to informed interviewers before he died, tell a story that is both intersecting and parallel to the medical history. Pioneering patients like Bobby Thomas confirm the possibility of survival. They also, through their own negotiations to maintain a sense of control, can live lives they themselves help define.

Low muscle mass and sarcopenia: common and predictive of osteopenia in inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND

Body composition is poorly studied in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Sarcopenia describes a loss of muscle mass and strength.

AIM

To assess the prevalence of low lean mass (LM), sarcopenia and associated morbidity in an adult IBD cohort.

METHODS

Cross-sectional data were gathered on pre-menopausal 18- to 50-year-old patients with IBD. Whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, anthropometric assessment and grip strength were performed. Low LM was defined as ≥1 s.d. below the population mean for appendicular skeletal muscle index [ASMI (kg)/height (m)²], and sarcopenia as both ASMI and grip strength ≥1 s.d. below population mean. Multivariate regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Of 137 participants (median age 31 years, BMI 24.8 kg/m(2) ), 56% were male and 69% had Crohn's disease (CD). Low LM and sarcopenia were observed in 21% and 12% of patients, respectively, and osteopenia/osteoporosis in 38% of patients (mean lumbar spine t-score -0.3 ± s.d. 1.1). Grip strength predicted low LM and sarcopenia better than did body mass index (BMI) (OR 4.8 vs. OR 0.7 for low-LM, P < 0.05 both). Normal BMI was falsely reassuring in 72% and 76% of patients with low ASMI and sarcopenia, respectively. Low LM and sarcopenia (OR = 3.6, P = 0.03; OR = 6.3, P = 0.02; respectively), but not BMI nor fat mass, predicted osteopenia/osteoporosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Low lean mass and sarcopenia are common in patients with IBD, and important to recognise as they predict osteopenia/osteoporosis. Grip strength testing should be incorporated into routine clinical practice to detect low lean mass deficits, which may go unrecognised using BMI alone.

Systematic review: body composition in adults with inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND

There is a paucity of data on body composition in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Alterations of fat and muscle may affect bone health, muscle performance, quality of life (QoL) and overall morbidity.

AIMS

To systematically review the literature on body composition in adults with IBD, and to discuss potential contributory factors and associations.

METHODS

A systematic search was performed in July 2012 of OVID SP MEDLINE, OVID EMBASE and National Library of Medicine's PubMed Central Medline (Limitations: English, humans, from 1992). A total of 19 articles comparing body composition in patients with IBD with healthy age- and sex-matched control populations were included in the primary analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 631 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and 295 with ulcerative colitis (UC), mean age 37.1 (s.d. ± 9.2) years; 485 (52%) female, were reported upon. Data were heterogeneous and methodology varied. Compared with controls, a statistically significant reduction in body mass index (BMI) was reported in 37% of CD and 20% of UC patients; reduced fat-free mass in 28% CD and 13% UC patients, and reduced fat mass in 31% CD and 13% UC patients. There was no consistent association between body composition and disease activity, duration, extent or therapies. BMI did not accurately predict body composition.

CONCLUSIONS

Current data, although heterogeneous, suggest that many patients with IBD are affected by aberrations in fat and lean mass, which may not be detected during routine clinical assessment. The prevalence and impact of altered body composition amongst this population warrant further investigation.

Long-term impact of infantile short bowel syndrome on nutritional status and growth

Short-term bowel adaptation has been documented, but data on long-term effects are scarce. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term consequences of infantile short bowel syndrome (SBS). A cross-sectional assessment (2005–7) of growth, nutritional status, defecation pattern and health status in individuals with a history of infantile SBS, born between 1975 and 2002, were performed. Data were compared with reference values of healthy controls and presented as means and standard deviations or median and ranges. A total of forty subjects (sixteen male and twenty-four female; mean age 14·8 (sd 6·8) years) had received parenteral nutrition during a median of 110 (range 43–2345) d, following small bowel resection. The mean standard deviation scores (SDS) for weight for height and target height (TH) of the children were normal; mean SDS for height for age was − 0·9 (sd 1·3). The median BMI adults was 19·9 (range 17–26) kg/m2; mean SDS for height for age was − 1·0 (range − 2·5 to 1·5). Height in general was significantly shorter than TH, and 53 % of children and 78 % of adults were below TH range. Most subjects had normal body fat percentage (%BF). SDS for total body bone mineral density were generally normal. The SDS for bone mineral content (BMC) of the children were − 1·0 (sd 1·1). Mean energy intake was 91 % of the estimated average requirements. The frequencies of defecation and bowel complaints of the subjects were significantly higher than in healthy controls. In conclusion, infantile SBS results in shorter stature than was expected from their calculated TH. BMC was lower than reference values, but the subjects had normal weight for height and %BF.

Determinants of changes in linear growth and body composition in incident pediatric Crohn's disease

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Pediatric Crohn's disease (CD) is associated with growth, lean mass (LM), and fat mass (FM) deficits. This study assessed and identified determinants of changes in height and body composition in children with CD following.

METHODS

Whole-body LM and FM were assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry in 78 CD subjects at diagnosis, 6, 12, and a median of 43 months (range, 24-63) later. Race- and sex-specific Z scores for lean mass (LM-ht-Z) and fat mass (FM-ht-Z) relative to height were derived using reference data in >900 controls. Serum cytokines and growth factors were measured, and quasi-least squares regression was used to identify determinants of changes in height and body composition.

RESULTS

LM-ht-Z and FM-ht-Z (both P<.005) improved significantly after diagnosis; however, female patients had persistent LM deficits vs controls (-0.50+/-1.02, P<.05). Serum interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and lipopolysaccharide binding protein decreased significantly (all P<.001). Greater increases in LM-ht-Z were associated with infliximab therapy (P<.05), increases in albumin (P<.001) and decreases in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P<.05), interleukin-6 (P<.005), and lipopolysaccharide binding protein (P<.05). Greater increases in FM-ht-Z were associated with glucocorticoid, methotrexate, and infliximab therapy, and increases in albumin (P<.05) and growth hormone binding protein (P<.05). Overall, height-Z did not improve; however, greater increases in insulin-like growth factor-1 (P<.05) and decreases in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (P<.05), interleukin-6 (P<.05), and lipopolysaccharide binding protein (P<.05) levels were associated with increases in height-Z.

CONCLUSIONS

Immune-mediated mechanisms contribute to growth and body composition deficits in CD. Therapies should target these deficits.

A two-year longitudinal study of persistent lean tissue deficits in children with Crohn's disease

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Deficits in lean body mass have been reported in cross-sectional studies of children with Crohn's disease, but no longitudinal data exist from diagnosis. We observed the effects of Crohn's disease on body composition and bone mineral content (BMC), beginning at diagnosis and followed prospectively for 2 years.

METHODS

The study was conducted at 2 tertiary care centers for pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases. At diagnosis we recorded age, weight, height, levels of serum interleukin-6 and insulin-like growth factor-1, sexual maturation stage, disease activity, z scores for body mass index (BMI), fat-free mass (FFM), and bone mineral content (BMC). z Scores were adjusted for height and age, when appropriate. Measurements were made yearly in patients with Crohn's disease (n = 42) but only at the start of the study in controls (n = 81).

RESULTS

BMI and FFM z scores were significantly reduced at the time of diagnosis in children with Crohn's disease, compared with controls. During the 2-year study period, the BMI z scores normalized in patients with Crohn's disease, but the FFM z scores did not increase significantly. The BMC z scores increased significantly, but they were still lower than control values after 2 years. Changes in BMC during a period of 2 years were associated with increases in FFM (R(2) = 0.318, P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

The correction of BMI that is associated with clinical improvement in children with Crohn's disease 2 years after diagnosis results from gains in fat mass. Significant FFM deficits might hamper normal acquisition of bone mass in children with Crohn's disease because of a lack of mechanical strain.

Sarcopenia is prevalent in patients with Crohn's disease in clinical remission

BACKGROUND

Patients with Crohn's disease (CD) are prone to osteoporosis. A loss of muscle mass, called sarcopenia, is responsible for an increased risk of disability. Many factors associated with osteopenia also decrease muscle mass. The aim of the present study was to measure the prevalence of sarcopenia in CD patients in remission and uncover its relationship with osteopenia.

METHODS

In all, 82 CD patients (43 female/39 male; 36 +/- 14 years; body mass index [BMI] 21.1 +/- 3.4) and 50 healthy volunteers (30F/20M; 39 +/- 13 years; BMI 22.2 +/- 2.5) were studied. Body composition was assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Sarcopenia was defined as an appendicular skeletal muscle index (ASMI) below 5.45 kg/m(2) for women and 7.26 for men. Osteopenia was defined as a T-score for bone mineral density (BMD) (g/cm(2)) below -1.0.

RESULTS

In all, 60% of CD patients were found to be sarcopenic and 30% osteopenic, compared to 16% and 4% of controls, respectively (P < 0.01). ASMI was significantly lower in patients than in controls (6.0 +/- 1.1 versus 6.5 +/- 1.2; P < 0.05). Sarcopenic patients had significantly (P < 0.01) lower BMI (20.0 +/- 3.5 versus 22.7 +/- 2.8 kg/m(2)), lean mass (41.5 +/- 9.1 versus 48.1 +/- 9.1 kg), and BMD (1.09 +/- 0.12 versus 1.15 +/- 0.08 g/cm(2)) than nonsarcopenic patients; 91% of sarcopenic patients were also osteopenic. ASMI correlated with BMD (r = 0.46; P < 0.01) and BMI (r = 0.38; P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of sarcopenia is high in young CD patients and strongly related to osteopenia. These 2 phenomena may share similar mechanisms. Simultaneous screening for sarcopenia and osteopenia may be useful in CD patients.

Gender differences in body composition deficits at diagnosis in children and adolescents with Crohn's disease

BACKGROUND

Childhood Crohn's disease (CD) is associated with poor growth and decreased body mass index (BMI); however, lean mass (LM) and fat mass (FM) deficits prior to therapy have not been characterized.

OBJECTIVES

To quantify LM and FM in incident pediatric CD subjects and controls, and to identify determinants of LM and FM deficits.

METHODS

Whole body LM and FM were assessed using DXA in 78 CD subjects and 669 healthy controls, ages 5-21 yr. Gender specific z-scores for LM (LM-Ht) and FM (FM-Ht) relative to height were derived using log linear regression models in the controls. Multivariate linear regression models adjusted for potential confounders.

RESULTS

CD was associated with significantly lower height and BMI for age. Within CD subjects, FM-Ht and LM-Ht were significantly lower in females compared with males (FM-Ht z: -0.66+/-0.83 vs. -0.08+/-0.95, p<0.01; LM-Ht z: -1.12+/-1.12 vs. -0.57+/-0.99, p<0.05). In females, CD was associated with significantly lower LM-Ht (p<0.001) and FM-Ht (p=0.001), adjusted for age, race and Tanner stage, compared with controls. LM and FM deficits were significantly greater in older females with CD; 47% of adolescent females had LM-Ht

CONCLUSIONS

Incident CD was associated with significant LM deficits in males and females, and FM deficits in females. Future studies are needed to identify etiologies for the age and gender differences and to evaluate therapies for these deficits.

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Key Words

• inflammatory bowel disease
• crohn’s disease
• growth failure
• body composition
• lean mass
• fat mass
• cachexia

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MESH Headings

• Adipose Tissue/metabolism
• Adolescent
• Adult
• Age Factors
• Anthropometry
• Body Composition
• Body Mass Index
• Cachexia
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Crohn Disease/diagnosis
• Crohn Disease/pathology
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Regression Analysis
• Sex Factors

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Grants

• M01 RR000240 NCRR NIH HHS
• R01 DK060030 NIDDK NIH HHS

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Affiliation(s)

Meena Thayu Children's Hospital of Philadelphia-Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
Justine Shults
Jon M Burnham
Babette S Zemel
Robert N Baldassano
Mary B Leonard

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Collaborators Collapse

An evaluation of patterns of change in total and regional body fat mass in healthy Spanish subjects using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to describe the evolution of total and regional fat mass according to gender, and to establish age and gender-related differences in a largely non-obese sedentary Spanish sample population using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).

SUBJECT/METHODS

A total of 1113 healthy subjects (397 male and 716 female) from the city of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), Spain, were used in the study. Fat mass measures were obtained from DXA scans of all subjects. Total body fat and body fat in three subregions (trunk, arms and legs) were evaluated.

RESULTS

As opposed to males, females showed from early infancy a smaller rate of muscular mass and a larger percentage of body fat (from 10 years of age), with fat deposits being basically gynoid or peripheral. With age, females showed a greater increase in fat mass together with an accelerated loss of muscular mass. Both rates tended to level out between 51 and 65 years of age. Between the ages of 40 and 60, females exhibited significant morphological evidence of larger fat depots in their legs.

CONCLUSIONS

Gender differences in the patterns of proportion and distribution of body fat, as well as in the pattern of body fat evolution, were found from early infancy. Further research is required, including assessing fat mass variables in order to unravel the dynamic of body composition and to understand the complex relationship between trunk fat mass deposits and the health risks associated with obesity.

Body-composition alterations consistent with cachexia in children and young adults with Crohn disease

BACKGROUND

Crohn disease (CD) in children is associated with low body mass index (BMI), poor growth, and delayed maturation; alterations in lean and fat mass, however, are poorly characterized.

OBJECTIVE

The objective was to quantify lean and fat mass in children and young adults with CD and in healthy control subjects, relative to height and pubertal maturation.

DESIGN

This cross-sectional study assessed whole-body lean and fat mass by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in 104 subjects with CD and in 233 healthy control subjects aged 4-25 y. Linear regression was used to determine the effect of CD on body composition and to generate sex-specific SD scores (z scores) for lean and fat mass relative to height.

RESULTS

Subjects with CD had lower height-for-age and BMI-for-age z scores (P < 0.001 for both) than did control subjects. CD was associated with significant deficits in lean mass after adjustment for height, age, race, and Tanner stage (P = 0.003); deficits in fat mass were not observed. The mean (+/-SD) lean mass-for-height and fat mass-for-height z scores in the subjects with CD were -0.61 +/- 0.92 and -0.04 +/- 0.86, respectively. Within the control group, fat mass-for-height was positively correlated with lean mass-for height (r = 0.41, P < 0.0001); this association was absent in the subjects with CD.

CONCLUSIONS

Children and young adults with CD had significant deficits in lean mass but preserved fat mass, which is consistent with cachexia. Further research is needed to identify physical activity, nutritional, and antiinflammatory interventions to improve body composition in persons with CD.

Body-composition alterations consistent with cachexia in children and young adults with Crohn disease

BACKGROUND

Crohn disease (CD) in children is associated with low body mass index (BMI), poor growth, and delayed maturation; alterations in lean and fat mass, however, are poorly characterized.

OBJECTIVE

The objective was to quantify lean and fat mass in children and young adults with CD and in healthy control subjects, relative to height and pubertal maturation.

DESIGN

This cross-sectional study assessed whole-body lean and fat mass by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in 104 subjects with CD and in 233 healthy control subjects aged 4-25 y. Linear regression was used to determine the effect of CD on body composition and to generate sex-specific SD scores (z scores) for lean and fat mass relative to height.

RESULTS

Subjects with CD had lower height-for-age and BMI-for-age z scores (P < 0.001 for both) than did control subjects. CD was associated with significant deficits in lean mass after adjustment for height, age, race, and Tanner stage (P = 0.003); deficits in fat mass were not observed. The mean (+/-SD) lean mass-for-height and fat mass-for-height z scores in the subjects with CD were -0.61 +/- 0.92 and -0.04 +/- 0.86, respectively. Within the control group, fat mass-for-height was positively correlated with lean mass-for height (r = 0.41, P < 0.0001); this association was absent in the subjects with CD.

CONCLUSIONS

Children and young adults with CD had significant deficits in lean mass but preserved fat mass, which is consistent with cachexia. Further research is needed to identify physical activity, nutritional, and antiinflammatory interventions to improve body composition in persons with CD.

Accuracy of body composition measurements by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry in underweight patients with chronic intestinal disease and in lean subjects

Background

To assess the accuracy of Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in underweight patients with chronic gastrointestinal disease, we investigated the ability of DXA to detect variations in body composition induced by infusion of parenteral nutrition (PN). Furthermore, the influence of a low body weight per se on the accuracy of DXA was studied by placing packets of lard on lean healthy subjects.

Methods

The hydration study included 11 patients with short bowel syndrome on long-term home parenteral nutrition (9 women and 2 men), and (mean ± SD) 49.5 ± 17.1 yr., 19.3 ± 3.1 kg/m². The lard study, where packets of lard were placed either over the thighs or the trunk region, was performed in 8 healthy lean male volunteers, 26.4 ± 7.4 yr., and 21.0 + 0.9 kg/m². Body composition, including measures of the total mass (TM), soft tissue mass (STM), lean tissue mass (LTM), fat mass (FM), and total body mineral content (TBBMC), was assessed by DXA. The fat fraction of the lard packets (3.49 kg), measured in triplicate by chemical fat extraction, was 52.2%.

Results

Hydration study; The increase in scale weight (BW) of approximately 0.90 kg due to infusion of PN correlated significantly to the increase in TM (R-square = 0.72, SEE 0.36 kg, p < 0.01), and the increase in STM (R-square = 0.69, SEE 0.38 kg, p < 0.01), however not with the increase LTM (R-square = 0.30, SEE 1.06 kg, p = 0.08). Mean changes in TM (0.88 kg), STM (0.88 kg), and LTM (0.81 kg) were not significantly different from changes in BW (p > 0.05). Lard study; Regardless of position, measurements of FM and LTM of the added lard were not significantly different from expected values. However, the composition of the lard packets into FM and LTM was more accurately detected when the packets were placed over the thighs than over the trunk region. The accuracy of DXA in individual subjects, expressed as the SD of the difference between expected and measured values, was 1.03 kg and 1.06 kg for the detection of changes in LTM and FM, respectively, and 0.18 kg for the detection of changes in STM and TM.

Conclusions

On a group level, DXA provided sufficient accuracy to detect small changes in body composition in underweight patients with chronic gastrointestinal disease. However, the accuracy errors were higher than reported in normal weight subjects. The accuracy was not influenced by a low body weight per se.