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Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Fat Measurements in Humans Correlate With Established Methods but Are Biased
Author(s) -
Gallagher Dympna,
Thornton John C.,
He Qing,
Wang Jack,
Yu Wen,
Bradstreet Thomas E.,
Burke Joanne,
Heymsfield Steven B.,
Rivas Veronica M.,
Kaufman Rhonda
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1038/oby.2010.97
Subject(s) - coefficient of variation , reference values , chemistry , nuclear medicine , zoology , medicine , chromatography , biology
Precision and accuracy of the quantitative magnetic resonance (QMR) system for measuring fat in phantoms and total body fat (TBF) in humans were investigated. Measurements were made using phantoms: oil, beef with water, beef with oil, and humans with oil and water. TBF QMR in humans was compared with TBF by a four‐compartment model (TBF 4C ). The coefficient of variation (CV) for replicate TBF QMR was 0.437%. QMR fat was lower at 23 °C vs. 37 °C. The fat increase in QMR phantom studies was consistent with the oil increase. When oil was added with humans, the increase in TBF QMR was >250 g for the initial 250 g of oil. With additional oil increments, the increase in TBF QMR was consistent with the amount of oil added. When water was added with humans, the TBF QMR increased independent of the amount of water added. TBF QMR was significantly less (mean ± s.e.) than TBF 4C (females: −0.68 ± 0.27 kg, males: −4.66 ± 0.62 kg; P = 0.0001), TBF BV (females: −1.90 ± 0.40 kg; males: −5.68 ± 0.75 kg; P = 0.0001), and TBF D2O for males, but greater for females (1.19 ± 0.43 kg vs. −3.69 ± 0.81 kg for males; P = 0.0003). TBF QMR was lower than TBF iDXA with the difference greater in males ( P = 0.001) and decreased with age ( P = 0.011). The strong linear relationships between TBF QMR and TBF 4C , TBF BV , and TBF D2O with slopes consistent with unity suggest that modifications are required to improve the accuracy. Should the latter be accomplished, QMR holds promise as a highly precise, rapid, and safe, noninvasive method for estimating the amount of and changes in TBF in overweight and severely obese persons.