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Reference charts for body composition parameters by dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry in European children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years—Results from the Austrian LEAD (Lung, hEart , sociAl , boDy ) cohort
Author(s) -
Ofenheimer Alina,
BreyerKohansal Robab,
Hartl Sylvia,
Burghuber Otto C.,
Krach Florian,
Schrott Andrea,
Franssen Frits M. E.,
Wouters Emiel F. M.,
Breyer MarieKathrin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
pediatric obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.226
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 2047-6310
pISSN - 2047-6302
DOI - 10.1111/ijpo.12695
Subject(s) - medicine , percentile , cohort , population , demography , lean body mass , dual energy x ray absorptiometry , cohort study , fat mass , body mass index , reference values , pediatrics , statistics , environmental health , body weight , mathematics , osteoporosis , sociology , bone mineral
Summary Background DXA is a widely used technique to assess body composition. Reference values based on a large general population cohort of European children and adolescents were missing. The aim of this study was to provide age‐ and sex‐specific reference percentiles of body composition parameters for European children and adolescents and to compare them to the American NHANES cohort. Additionally, exponents accounting best for height biases were analysed. Methods DXA scans of 1573 participants, aged 6 to 18 years, recruited from 2011 to 2019 by the Austrian LEAD study, a representative population‐based cohort, have been used to create reference charts using the LMS model. Results Reference charts displaying percentile curves and the corresponding reference values are provided. Fat mass parameters were higher in females, while lean mass parameters were higher in males. Compared to the NHANES cohort medians of FMI and LMI were always lower. For FMI , BMI , LMI and ALMI the best fitting exponent were 2.5, 3, 3 and 3.5 respectively Conclusions The present study provides reference charts for children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years, for body composition parameters assessed by DXA. The charts enable comparison to a European general‐population cohort and indicate that reference populations should be chosen with caution.