Phase angle and anthropometric indicators of cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents

The phase angle (PhA) is a measurement obtained from the resistance and reactance found in the bioelectrical impedance examination and is useful in assessing nutritional status and in assessing cardiometabolic diseases. Therefore, the objective was to correlate the phase angle to the anthropometric variables of cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in children and adolescents.

Weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and neck circumference (NC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and PhA of 1231 children and adolescents aged between 5 and 18 years were assessed. PhA was assessed in tertiles and CMR was identified using the anthropometric variables BMI, WC, NC, and WHtR. Linear regression models were used to verify the association between PhA tertiles and CMR anthropometric variables, stratified by sex.

No relationship was found between PhA and CMR variables in children. In adolescents, lower values of NC (β = -0.019, p = 0.005) and BMI (β = -0.025, p = 0.023) were found in boys, WC (β = -0.017, p = 0.020), WHtR (β = -0.017, p = 0.020), NC (β = -0.011, p = 0.027) and BMI (β = -0.026, p = 0.009) in girls when they were in tertile 1 when compared to tertile 3 of the PhA, even after adjusting for age.

The PhA was directly associated with CMR in the assessed adolescents.