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Body Composition in Outpatient Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Case-Control Study
Lawia Szkoda1, Andrzej Szopa1, Ilona Kwiecień-Czerwieniec2
1Department of Physiotherapy, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland.
Insights
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have lower body mass index (BMI) z-scores and percentiles compared to typically developing peers. This study found that children with CP also exhibit reduced body composition, particularly muscle mass, indicating altered body composition.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric physical therapy
- Clinical nutrition
- Biomedical engineering
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) can affect growth and body composition.
- Understanding these differences is crucial for managing health in children with CP.
- Bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) is a non-invasive tool for assessing body composition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare quantitative (BMI z-score, BMI percentile) and qualitative (body composition) differences between children with CP (GMFCS levels I/II) and typically developing (TD) children.
- To investigate if children with CP have lower BMI and reduced muscle mass compared to TD peers.
- To utilize BIA for these assessments.
Main Methods:
- Ninety children with CP (GMFCS I/II, aged 8-16) and ninety TD children were enrolled.
- Height and body composition were measured using BIA.
- Data were analyzed to compare groups.
Main Results:
- Children with CP had significantly lower average height, weight, BMI z-score, and BMI percentile than TD children.
- Body components associated with muscle mass, including fat-free mass (FFM%), skeletal muscle mass (SMM), and predicted muscle mass (PMM), were lower in children with CP.
- These findings confirm the hypothesis of reduced muscle mass in children with CP.
Conclusions:
- Children with CP exhibit significantly altered body composition compared to their typically developing peers.
- Reduced muscle mass is a key characteristic of altered body composition in children with CP.
- These findings highlight the importance of monitoring body composition in pediatric CP management.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to identify quantitative (BMI z-score and BMI percentile) and qualitative (BC) differences between high functioning outpatient children with CP (GMFCS levels I/II) vs TD children, using BIA. We hypothesized that: 1) BMI z-score and BMI percentile will be lower in children with CP compared with their TD peers; and 2) body components (BC) directly associated with muscle mass (including fat free mass (FFM%) and skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and predicted muscle mass (PMM)) in children with CP will be lower than in their TD peers.
Patients And Methods:
Ninety children with CP (GMFCS levels I/II) aged 8-16 years were enrolled in this study. Due to the fact that there is lack of normative values of particular body components in the pediatric population, ninety typically developing (TD) peers were used as references. The examination consisted of two parts: 1) the height measurement and 2) body composition assessments, both using the bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA).
Results:
Average values for height, weight, BMI z-score, and BMI percentile in children with CP were significantly statistically lower than in the reference group. BC's directly associated with muscle mass (including FFM%, SMM, and PMM) in children with CP were lower than those in their TD peers.
Conclusion:
Altered body compositions were evident in children with CP.
