title: Body composition assessment in spinal cord injury subjects.
abstract: Total and segmental body composition (fat mass, FM; fat-free mass, FFM; bone mineral density, BMD) were evaluated in 13 sedentary spinal cord injury (SCI) subjects and in 13 able-bodied healthy males (control, C) using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and skinfold methods. In the SCI group, total FM was significantly higher (31.1+/-8.2 vs. 20.8+/-6.9%) and total FFM was significantly lower (62.2+/-8.9 vs. 73.5+/-6.4%) than in C subjects. Total BMD did not differ between the SCI and C groups (1.20+/-0.11 vs. 1.30+/-0.11 g/cm(2)). In the SCI group, segmental FM was higher in the legs and trunk, whereas BMD was lower in legs only. The skinfold method significantly underestimated FM in the SCI group. Body composition is severely modified in paralyzed segments. The predictive equations developed for healthy populations appear to be inapplicable to SCI subjects.
authors: International Center for the Assessment of Nutritional Status, University of Milan, Via Botticelli 21, I-20133, Milan, Italy. martina.maggioni@unimi.it
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Maggioni
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Bertoli
authors: V
authors: V
authors: Margonato
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Merati
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Veicsteinas
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Testolin
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D015519:Bone Density; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*