title: Air displacement plethysmography, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and total body water to evaluate body composition in preschool-age children.
abstract: Anthropometrics and body mass index are only proxies in the evaluation of adiposity in the pediatric population. Air displacement plethysmography technology was not available for children aged 6 months to 9 years until recently. Our study was designed to test the precision of air displacement plethysmography (ADP) in measuring body fat mass in children at ages 3 to 5 years compared with a criterion method, deuterium oxide dilution (D(2)O), which estimates total body water and a commonly used methodology, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). A prospective, cross-sectional cohort of 66 healthy children (35 girls) was recruited in the central Arkansas region between 2007 and 2009. Weight and height were obtained using standardized procedures. Fat mass (%) was measured using ADP, DXA, and D(2)O. Concordance correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman plots were used to investigate the precision of the ADP techniques against D(2)O and DXA in children at ages 3 to 5 years. ADP concordance correlation coefficient for fat mass was weak (0.179) when compared with D(2)O. Bland-Altman plots revealed a low accuracy and large scatter of ADP fat mass (%) results (mean=-2.5, 95% CI -20.3 to 15.4) compared with D(2)O. DXA fat mass (%) results were more consistent although DXA systematically overestimated fat mass by 4% to 5% compared with D(2)O. Compared with D(2)O, ADP does not accurately assess percent fat mass in children aged 3 to 5 years. Thus, D(2)O, DXA, or quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance may be considered better options for assessing fat mass in young children.
authors.affiliation: epartment of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 15 Children’s Way, Little Rock, AR 72202, USA.
authors.forename: Tina A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Crook
authors.forename: Narain
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Armbya
authors.forename: Mario A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cleves
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Badger
authors.forename: Aline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andres
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism; D000388:Air; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D001834:Body Water / Q000378:metabolism*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017666:Deuterium Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010991:Plethysmography / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D017666:Deuterium Oxide