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Bioelectrical Impedance in Premature Newborns and Its Relationship with Diet Therapy in a Neonatal Intensive Care
Catiuscie Cabreira da Silva Tortorella1, Bárbara Mendes Paz Chao2, Estela Iraci Rabito3
1Graduate Program in Child and Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital de Clínicas, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba 80060-900, Brazil.
Insights
Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in preterm infants shows that adequate nutrition correlates with higher resistance. Risky pregnancies and harmful maternal lifestyles are linked to lower reactance in these infants.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal physiology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Assessing body composition in preterm infants is crucial for monitoring growth and health.
- Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) offers a non-invasive method to estimate body composition parameters.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine resistance, reactance, and phase angle values in moderate preterm infants.
- To investigate the association of these BIA parameters with neonatal and maternal characteristics, and nutritional intake.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study involving 43 moderate preterm infants.
- Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was used to measure resistance, reactance, and phase angle.
- Nutritional intake was classified as insufficient, partial, or sufficient.
Main Results:
- Mean resistance: 602.0 ± 118.2 Ω, reactance: 57.2 Ω (IQR 42.6-65.2), phase angle: 5.22° (IQR 4.1-6.6).
- Lower resistance was associated with risky pregnancy (p < 0.001).
- Lower reactance was linked to harmful maternal lifestyle (p = 0.01) and insufficient nutritional intake (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
- BIA measurements in this cohort fall within reported ranges.
- Adequate nutritional intake is associated with higher resistance in preterm infants.
- Risky pregnancy and maternal lifestyle factors correlate with lower reactance, highlighting potential areas for intervention.
Abstract:
(1) Background: To estimate resistance, reactance, and phase angle values among moderate preterm infants and their variation according to neonatal and maternal characteristics and nutritional intake. (2) Methods: This was a cohort that evaluated 43 moderate preterm infants using bioelectrical impedance analysis. The study variables included resistance, reactance, and phase angle measurements, in addition to classification of nutritional intake. (3) Results: Mean resistance was 602.0 ± 118.2 Ω, reactance was 57.2 Ω (IQR = 42.6-65.2), and phase angle was 522° (IQR = 4.1-6.6). Lower resistance values were found in the presence of risky pregnancy (532.2 ± 111.9 Ω vs. 650.9 ± 97.9 Ω, p < 0.001) and lower reactance values, in the presence of harmful maternal lifestyle habits at both the first (p = 0.01) and second assessments (p = 0.01). Eight preterm infants were considered to have insufficient nutritional intake (23.5%); 17, sufficient (50.0%) and 9, partially sufficient (26.5%). There was less reactance among preterm infants with insufficient nutritional intake (p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: The bioelectrical impedance analysis measurements were within the range of values reported in other studies. There was an association between full diet and adequate nutritional intake with higher resistance values, while a lower reactance value was associated with the presence of risky pregnancy and harmful maternal lifestyle.
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