Associations among body composition, inflammatory profile and disease extent in ulcerative colitis patients

The aim of our study was to assess body composition status and its association with inflammatory profile and extent of intestinal damage in ulcerative colitis patients during clinical remission.

This is a cross-sectional study in which body composition data (phase angle [PhA], fat mass [FM], triceps skin fold thickness [TSFt], mid-arm circumference [MAC], mid-arm muscle circumference [MAMC], adductor pollicis muscle thickness [APMt]), inflammatory profile (C-reactive protein [CRP], a1-acid glycoprotein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR]) and disease extent were recorded.

The mean age of the 59 patients was 48.1 years; 53.3% were women. Most patients were in clinical remission (94.9%) and 3.4% was malnourished according to body mass index. PhA was inversely correlated with inflammatory markers such as CRP (R=-0.59; p<0.001) and ESR (R=-0.46; p<0.001) and directly correlated with lean mass: MAMC (R=0.31; p=0.01) and APMt (R=0.47; p<0.001). Lean mass was inversely correlated with non-specific inflammation marker (APMt vs. ESR) and directly correlated with hemoglobin values (MAMC vs. hemoglobin). Logistic regression analysis revealed that body cell mass was associated with disease extent (OR 0.92; 95CI 0.87-0.97; p<0.01).

PhA was inversely correlated with inflammatory markers and directly correlated with lean mass. Acute inflammatory markers were correlated with disease extent. Body cell mass was associated with disease extent.