Effectiveness of multi-component bioimpedance analysis (phase angle, body cell mass, and basal metabolic rate) in diagnosing pediatric protein-energy malnutrition
Received: 2026-02-24
Published: 2026-04-30
Abstract
Aim. To comparatively evaluate the diagnostic informativeness of multicomponent bioimpedance analysis (MEDASS BIA) parameters in children with protein-energy malnutrition (PEM)— Phase angle, Active Cell Mass (ACM), Fat Mass (FM), Skeletal Muscle Mass (SMM), and Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) indicators — in comparison with conventional anthropometry (BMI).
Materials and Methods. The clinical study included 10 children aged 6–13 years with PEM and 10 healthy peers (control group). Patients were differentiated by age (6–9 years: 70.0%, 10–13 years: 30.0%), sex (60.0% boys, 40.0% girls), etiological factors (alimentary 60.0%, secondary 40.0%), and severity of PEM (Grade I subclinical: 40.0%, Grade II moderate: 40.0%, Grade III severe cachectic: 20.0%), and underwent anthropometry and MEDASS bioimpedance analysis (PA, ACM, SMM, FM, BMR).
Results. In the PEM group, BMI was 13.51 ± 0.32 kg/m² (16.33 ± 0.86 kg/m² in the control group, p < 0.001), while profound systemic changes were identified in bioimpedance parameters: Phase angle decreased to 5.17 ± 0.17° (5.59 ± 0.28° in the control group, p < 0.05), SMM to 7.96 ± 1.30 kg (p < 0.05), and ACM to 9.42 ± 0.75 kg (66–75% of the normal value, p < 0.01). The proportion of fat mass demonstrated a marked deficit (%FM = 7.78 ± 0.89% vs 16.76 ± 0.30%, p < 0.001), while BMR decreased to 916.0 ± 23.5 kcal/day, indicating metabolic adaptation (p < 0.01).
Conclusion. The multicomponent BIA method has higher diagnostic sensitivity than anthropometry for detecting cellular and metabolic changes at the subclinical stage of PEM.
Keywords
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