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Relation of forearm's bone and soft tissues to infant's body composition
1Department of Pediatrics, 50 North Medical Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA. gchan@hsc.utah.edu
Insights
Portable dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (pDEXA) forearm measurements accurately reflect total body composition in infants. This method reliably assesses bone mineral, lean, and fat mass in newborns, correlating well with total body scans.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Medical Imaging
- Body Composition Analysis
Background:
- Portable dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (pDEXA) devices offer localized body composition assessment.
- Evaluating infant body composition is crucial for monitoring growth and health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the correlation between forearm measurements (bone mineral, lean, fat mass) and total body composition in infants.
- To validate the use of pDEXA for assessing infant body composition.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-two infants underwent forearm and total body scans using pDEXA and XR-26 (Norland Medical Systems).
- Measurements included bone mineral content (BMC), bone mineral density (BMD), fat mass, and lean mass.
- Long-term precision error for pDEXA was determined to be 0.4%.
Main Results:
- Forearm BMC, BMD, fat mass, and lean mass showed significant correlations with total body composition metrics (r = 0.53–0.84, p < 0.05).
- Forearm measurements strongly correlated with infant body weight and length (r = 0.73–0.94).
Conclusions:
- Forearm pDEXA measurements are a reliable indicator of total body bone mineral, fat, and lean mass in infants.
- Localized pDEXA assessment provides valuable insights into infant body composition.
Abstract:
Small portable units using the dual X-ray absorptiometry method (pDEXA) are becoming available to evaluate a localized region of the body such as the forearm. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between infant's forearm measurements of bone mineral, lean, and fat mass and total body composition. Twenty-two infants participated in this study. Mean age of the infants was 21 d with a weight range of 1-3.6 kg. All infants were stable and had their forearm and total body scanned on the same day. The long-term precision error for the pDEXA was 0.4%. The infant's total body was scanned by the XR-26 (Norland Medical Systems, Fort Atkinson,WI). Forearm bone mineral content, bone mineral density (BMD), fat mass, and lean mass correlated to total body mineral content (BMC) (r = 0.84, p < 0.001), total body BMD (r = 0.73, p < 0.001), total fat mass (r = 0.53, p < 0.05), and total body lean mass (r = 0.80, p < 0.001). Forearm BMC, lean, and fat mass correlated significantly with body weight and length (r = 0.73-0.94). In conclusion, forearm measurements of bone mineral, fat, and lean mass reflect total body bone mineral, fat, and lean mass in small infants.