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Estimation of lean body weight in older women with hip fracture

  • Estimation of Lean Body Weight in Older Women with Hip Fracture
  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objective

Lean body weight (LBW) decreases with age while total body fat increases, resulting in altered drug pharmacokinetics. A semi-mechanistic equation estimating LBW using height, weight and sex has been developed for potential use across a wide range of body compositions. The aim of this study was to determine the ability of the LBW equation to estimate dual energy x-ray absorptiometry-derived fat free mass (FFMDXA) in a population of older women with recent hip fracture.

Methods

Baseline, four and 12 month data obtained from 23 women enrolled in the Sarcopenia and Hip Fracture study were pooled to give 58 measurements. LBW was estimated using the equation:

$LBW(kg) = \frac{{9270 \times Wt}} {{8780 + (244 \times BMI)}} $

Body composition was classified as: ‘normal’ (BMI <25kg/m2 and not sarcopenic), ‘overweight-obese’ (BMI >25kg/m2 and not sarcopenic), ‘sarcopenic’ (sarcopenic and BMI <25kg/m2), or ‘sarcopenic-obese’ (sarcopenic and BMI >25kg/m2). The ability of the LBW equation to predict FFMDXA was determined graphically using Bland-Altman plots and quantitatively using the method of Sheiner and Beal.

Results

The mean ± SD age of female participants women was 83±7 years (n=23). Sarcopenia was frequently observed (65.2%). Bland-Altman plots demonstrated an underestimation by the LBW equation compared to FFMDXA. The bias (95% CI) and precision (95% CI) calculated using the method of Sheiner and Beal was 0.5kg (−0.7, 1.66kg) and 4.4kg (−3.7, 12.4kg) respectively for pooled data.

Conclusion

This equation can be used to easily calculate LBW. When compared to FFMDXA, the LBW equation resulted in a small underestimation on average in this population of women with recent hip fracture. The degree of bias may not be clinically important although further studies of larger heterogeneous cohorts are needed to investigate and potentially improve the accuracy of this predictive equation in larger clinical cohorts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    S. J. Mitchell, S. N. Hilmer & R. D. Hansen

  2. Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    S. J. Mitchell, S. N. Hilmer, R. D. Hansen, T. P. Finnegan & E. U. R. Smith

  3. School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    C. M. J. Kirkpatrick

  4. Exercise Health and Performance Faculty Research Group, University of Sydney, Lidcombe, NSW, Australia

    D. A. Williamson, B. D. Lloyd & M. A. Fiatarone Singh

  5. Balmain Hospital, Balmain, NSW, Australia

    N. A. Singh

  6. St George Hospital, Kogarah, NSW, Australia

    B. J. Allen & T. H. Diamond

  7. Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    A. D. Diwan

  8. Hebrew Senior Life, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    M. A. Fiatarone Singh

  9. Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    M. A. Fiatarone Singh

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  1. S. J. Mitchell
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  2. S. N. Hilmer
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  3. C. M. J. Kirkpatrick
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  4. R. D. Hansen
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  5. D. A. Williamson
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  7. T. P. Finnegan
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  8. B. J. Allen
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  10. A. D. Diwan
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  11. B. D. Lloyd
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  12. E. U. R. Smith
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  13. M. A. Fiatarone Singh
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Mitchell, S.J., Hilmer, S.N., Kirkpatrick, C.M.J. et al. Estimation of lean body weight in older women with hip fracture. J Nutr Health Aging 16, 188–192 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-011-0100-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-011-0100-y

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