Publication Details
Overview
 
 
Sofie Vermeiren, David Beckwee, Bart Jansen, Ivan Bautmans, Aldo Scafoglieri
 

Unpublished contribution to conference

Abstract 

Objectives: Sarcopenia is an age-related syndrome signifying a progressive and generalized loss of muscle mass (MM). Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) are often used for measuring body composition. To date, the accuracy of BIA to identify sarcopenia remains unclear. Our aim was to assess different BIA-equations for MM using DXA as reference method. Method: 140 community dwelling well-functioning persons aged 80 and older underwent DXA and BIA assessment. MM estimated by using several published BIA-equations was compared to DXA-measurements. Finally, subjects were classified for sarcopenia according to MM measured by DXA and predicted by BIA equations. Results: Muscle mass as predicted by the BIA equations showed a high positive correlation when compared to DXA, but all systematically overestimated muscle mass (mean differences ranging between -0,93 kg and -11,06 kg, all p<0,001). In general, a very low agreement between DXA and BIA methods was found for sarcopenia classification, as the highest Cohen's kappa was 0,377. Conclusion: Muscle Mass estimation by BIA in persons aged 80 and over is highly correlated with DXA, but susceptible to overestimation. The use of these equations for diagnosing sarcopenia in a clinical setting remains doubtful. Future research is necessary to generate population-specific equations to estimate Muscle Mass based on BIA measurements.

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