Impedance-based measures of muscle mass can be used to predict severity of hepatic steatosis in pediatric NAFLD
Nutrition Available online 10 August 2021, 111447 Toshifumi Yodoshi
Highlights
• BIA-based measures of muscle mass are associated with histologic disease severity.
• The lower the muscle mass the more severe the hepatic steatosis.
• Percent body fat is not associated with pediatric NAFLD severity.
Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the association between bioelectrical impedance (BIA)-based measures of body composition and histologic liver disease severity in a pediatric cohort with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Methods Cross-sectional study of patients <20 years old with histologically confirmed NAFLD followed in our Steatohepatitis Center from 2017 to 2019 and contemporaneous body composition data obtained using a multifrequency octopolar BIA device (InBody 370©, Seoul Korea). BIA data collected were skeletal muscle mass (SMM), appendicular muscle mass (AMM), and percent body fat. SMM and AMM were corrected for height (dividing by height2), generating their respective indices. Univariate linear and logistic regression, followed by multivariable logistic regression analyses, were used.
Results Of the 79 included children (73% male, 38% Hispanic, median age 13 years, median BMI z 2.43), the median NAFLD Activity Score (NAS) was 4 (IQR 3, 5). In multivariable regression analyses, SMM index was negatively associated with hepatic steatosis after controlling for confounders (OR 0.76; 95%CI, 0.62 – 0.93). Similarly, AMM index was negatively associated with hepatic steatosis severity (OR 0.69; 95%CI, 0.53 – 0.90). In contrast, percent body fat was not associated with hepatic steatosis. NAS, lobular inflammation, ballooning scores and fibrosis stage were not associated with measures of body composition.
Conclusions There is an inverse association between BIA-based measures of muscle mass and hepatic steatosis severity in children with NAFLD. BIA data could further inform clinical decision-making in this context.