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The effect of obesity on kidney length in a healthy pediatric population
José-Rafael Pantoja Zuzuárregui1, Ronna Mallios, Jerome Murphy
1Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Insights
Obese children often have larger kidneys. This study established normal kidney size limits for obese children, helping avoid unnecessary medical evaluations for enlarged kidneys (nephromegaly).
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Medical Imaging
- Biostatistics
Background:
- Childhood obesity rates have significantly increased over the past decade.
- Organ size, including kidneys, correlates with body weight.
- Obese children exhibit larger kidney sizes compared to normal-weight children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify kidney size in obese children.
- To establish normal renal length limits for the obese pediatric population.
- To differentiate normal kidney size in obese children from potential nephromegaly.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 204 healthy pediatric patients with benign hematuria (January 2000 - May 2008).
- Correlation analysis between kidney length and demographic/anthropometric factors (age, height, weight, BMI, BSA) in obese patients (n=59).
- Multiple linear regression and nomogram creation using height as a predictor for renal length in obese children.
Main Results:
- Kidney length in obese children significantly correlated with age, height, weight, BMI, and BSA.
- Height was identified as a significant predictor of kidney length in the obese group.
- Obese pediatric patients demonstrated significantly larger kidneys compared to normal-weight counterparts (P < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Established normal renal length nomograms for obese children.
- Provides a reference to avoid unnecessary investigations for nephromegaly in this population.
- Highlights the impact of obesity on organ size in pediatric patients.
Abstract:
Over the past decade, the percentage of children who are obese has rapidly increased. As weight has been shown to correlate strongly with the size of various organs, we have observed that obese children have larger kidneys than their normal-weight counterparts. This study sought to quantify this observation by establishing the normal limits of renal length for this population. We examined 204 healthy patients seen for benign hematuria between January 2000 and May 2008. Both right and left kidney lengths significantly correlated with age, height, weight, body mass index and body surface area in our obese patients (n = 59). Height was also found to be a significant predictor of kidney length, in the obese group, by multiple linear regression analysis and was used to create renal length nomograms for the obese pediatric population (P < 0.01). According to this analysis, obese patients had significantly larger kidneys than those of normal-weight patients (P < 0.01). By defining the normal limits of renal length for this group, unnecessary evaluation for nephromegaly will be avoided.
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