title: A new method for body fat evaluation, body adiposity index, is useful in women with familial partial lipodystrophy.
abstract: BMI is a widely used method to evaluate adiposity. However, it has several limitations, particularly an inability to differentiate lean from fat mass. A new method, body adiposity index (BAI), has been recently proposed as a new measurement capable to determine fat excess better than BMI. The aim of this study was to investigate BAI as a mean to evaluate adiposity in a group of women with familial partial lipodystrophy (FPLD) and compare it with BMI. Thirteen women with FLPD Dunnigan type (FPLD2) and 13 healthy volunteers matched by age and BMI were studied. Body fat content and distribution were analyzed by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Plasma leptin was also measured. BAI was significantly lower in FPLD2 in comparison to control group (24.6 ± 1.5 vs. 30.4 ± 4.3; P < 0.001) and presented a more significant correlation with total fat (%) (r = 0.71; P < 0.001) and fat Mass (g) (r = 0.80; P < 0.001) than BMI (r = 0.27; P = 0.17 for total fat and r = 0.52; P = 0.006 for fat mass). There was a correlation between leptin and BAI (r = 0.57; P = 0.01), [corrected] but not between leptin and BMI. In conclusion, BAI was able to catch differences in adiposity in a sample of FPLD2 patients. It also correlated better with leptin levels than BMI. Therefore, we provide further evidence that BAI may become a more reliable indicator of fat mass content than the currently available measurements.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Estadual de Diabetes e Endocrinologia do Rio de Janeiro (IEDE), Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. godoymatos@openlink.com.br
authors.forename: Amélio F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Godoy-Matos
authors.forename: Rodrigo O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.forename: Cynthia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Valerio
authors.forename: Patricia B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Mory
authors.forename: Regina S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Moises
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon / Q000379:methods*; D000273:Adipose Tissue; D050154:Adiposity; D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D052496:Lipodystrophy, Familial Partial / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D020738:Leptin