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Upper and lower limbs composition: a comparison between anthropometry and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in healthy people

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Abstract

Summary

The detection of changes in lean mass (LM) distribution can help to prevent disability. This study assessed the degree of association between anthropometric measurements and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) body composition (BC) parameters of the upper and lower limbs in a healthy general population and collected DXA age- and sex-specific values of BC that can be useful to build a reference standard.

Purpose

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of some widely available anthropometric measurements in the assessment of body composition (BC) at the limbs, especially in terms of muscle mass, in a large sample of healthy subjects of different age bands and sex, using fat mass (FM) and lean mass (LM) parameters derived by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as the gold standard. The secondary aim was to collect DXA age- and sex-specific values of BC of left and right limbs (upper and lower) in a healthy Italian population to be used as reference standards.

Methods

Two hundred fifty healthy volunteers were enrolled. Arm circumference (AC) and thigh circumference (ThC) were measured, and total and regional BC parameters were obtained by a whole-body DXA scan (Lunar iDXA, Madison, WI, USA; enCORE™ 2011 software version 13.6).

Results

FM/LM showed only fair correlation with AC and ThC in females (r = 0.649 and 0.532, respectively); in males and in the total population, the correlation was low (r = 0.360 or lower, and p non-statistically significant). AC and ThC were not well representative of arms LM in both genders (females r = 0.452, males r = 0.530) independently of age. In general, men of all age groups showed higher values of LM and lean mass index (LMI) in both total and segmental upper and lower limbs. In males, the maximum LM and LMI were achieved in the fifth decade in both upper and lower limbs and then started to decrease with aging. In females, no significant modification with aging was identified in LM and LMI.

Conclusion

According to our results, anthropometry is not well representative of LM of arms in both genders, independently of age; therefore, a densitometric examination should be considered for a correct assessment of BC at limbs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Monica Benni and Dr. Pasqualepaolo Pagliaro for their help in the organization of patients’ enrollment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, The “Rizzoli” Orthopaedic Institute, Via G. C. Pupilli 1, 40136, Bologna, Italy

    Danila Diano, Daniele Mercatelli & Alberto Bazzocchi

  2. Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), Division of Radiology S.Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, University of Bologna, Via G. Massarenti 9, 40138, Bologna, Italy

    Danila Diano, Federico Ponti, Sara Guerri, Michele Amadori & Giuseppe Battista

  3. Department of Radiology, Auckland City Hospital, 2 Park Road, Grafton, Auckland, 1023, New Zealand

    Maria Pilar Aparisi Gómez

  4. Department of Radiology, Hospital Nueve de Octubre, Calle Valle de la Ballestera, 59, 46015, Valencia, Spain

    Maria Pilar Aparisi Gómez

  5. Department of Radiology, University of Foggia, Viale Luigi Pinto 1, 71100, Foggia, Italy

    Giuseppe Guglielmi

  6. Department of Radiology, Scientific Institute “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza” Hospital, Viale Cappuccini 1, 71013 San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy

    Giuseppe Guglielmi

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  1. Danila Diano
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  2. Federico Ponti
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Correspondence to Alberto Bazzocchi.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 5 Descriptive statistics for densitometric parameters and indexes (mean ± standard deviation) - segmental upper limbs (right and left)
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Table 6 Descriptive statistics for densitometric parameters and indexes (mean ± standard deviation) - segmental lower limbs (right and left)
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Diano, D., Ponti, F., Guerri, S. et al. Upper and lower limbs composition: a comparison between anthropometry and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in healthy people. Arch Osteoporos 12, 78 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11657-017-0374-8

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