Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Strength of association between body mass index and physical function scores in paediatric burn patients: A National
Victoria G Rontoyanni1, Andrzej Kudlicki1, Alen Palackic2
1Department of Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
Insights
Higher body mass index (BMI) at discharge correlates with improved physical function (PF) in pediatric burn patients at 12 months post-injury. This suggests that increased body weight does not hinder PF recovery after severe burns.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric burn recovery
- Musculoskeletal function in children
- Body composition and health outcomes
Background:
- Increased body weight is linked to reduced muscle wasting post-burn.
- Overweight/obese children may have impaired musculoskeletal function and physical function (PF).
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between body mass index (BMI) at discharge and self-reported/caregiver-reported PF in pediatric burn patients during recovery.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective, multisite longitudinal study of pediatric burn patients (8-17 years).
- Assessed self-reported and proxy-reported mobility and upper extremity PF using PROMIS measures at 6, 12, and 24 months post-injury.
- Primary exposure: BMI-for-age at discharge.
Main Results:
- Analyzed 118 patients (mean age 11.7 years, 37.6% TBSA burn).
- BMI at discharge positively impacted self-reported mobility at 12 months (p=0.05) but not at 6 or 24 months.
- No significant effect of BMI on proxy-reported mobility or upper extremity PF.
Conclusions:
- Greater BMI at discharge associated with improved self-reported PF at 12 months post-burn.
- Suggests faster PF recovery in pediatric burn patients with higher body weight.
- Larger body weight does not appear to compromise PF recovery after burn.
Objective:
Increased body weight has been associated with reduced muscle wasting in the early catabolic phase after a severe burn. Yet, overweight and obese non-burn children often exhibit impaired musculoskeletal function, which may lead to poor physical function (PF). We aimed to determine the association between body mass index (BMI) at discharge and self-reported PF and caregiver proxy-reported PF during recovery of burned children.
Materials And Methods:
This is a retrospective multisite longitudinal study in paediatric burn patients ((8-17 y old at time of burn). PF outcome measures were self-reported mobility, proxy-reported mobility, and upper extremity PF evaluated using PROMIS measures at 6-, 12-, and 24-months after injury. Primary exposure variable was BMI-for-age at discharge.
Results:
A total of 118 paediatric patients, aged 11.7 ± 3.3 y, with burns covering 37.6 ± 18.8% of their total body surface area (TBSA) and BMI-for-age of 23.1 ± 5.4 kg/m2 at discharge were analyzed. BMI at discharge was not significantly associated with self-reported mobility scores 6 months after burn (beta coefficient =-0.23, p = 0.31), had a positive effect on mobility at 12 months (beta = 0.46, p = 0.05), and no effect at 24 months after injury (beta=-0.10, p = 0.60), when adjusted for burn size. BMI did not have a significant effect on proxy-reported mobility or upper extremity PF.
Conclusion:
A greater BMI at discharge was associated with improved self-reported PF at 12 months after burn but not at 6 months or 24 months, which suggests a faster recovery of PF in paediatric patients of larger body weight. Our data suggests that a larger body weight does not compromise the recovery of PF after burn.
