Bioimpedance analysis in determining body composition in women with systemic lupus erythematosus: a pilot study

Objective: to determine body composition (BC) in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), by using bioimpedance analysis. Patients and methods . The investigation enrolled 12 women with a reliable diagnosis of SLE, who were followed up at the Clinic of the V.A. Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology. Their median age was 46.5 [38.5; 54.7] years. All the patients underwent estimation of waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI). BC was analyzed using an InBody 770 multi-frequency bioimpedance analyzer (Biospace Co. Ltd, South Korea) at the Clinical Nutrition Clinic, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Biotechnology. Results and discussion . BMI corresponding to overweight or obesity was observed in 67% of patients; abdominal obesity (AO) was seen in 83%. BC study showed that in most patients, adipose tissue mass was greater than the normal values (75%), lean body mass, skeletal muscle mass, and the amount of body water were within normal limits (83%), and the basal metabolic rate was reduced (67%). There were positive correlations between the percentage of adipose tissue and BMI (r=0.9; p<0.01), WC (r=0.7; p<0.01), C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (r=0.6; p<0.05), and complement C3 concentrations (r=0.9; p<0.01). Similar results were obtained when assessing the relationship between visceral fat area and BMI (r=0.9; p<0.01), WC (r=0.78; p<0.01), CRP (r=0.6; p<0.05), complement component C3 (r=0.8; p<0.01). There was an inverse correlation between visceral fat area and the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) (r=-0.6; p<0.05). Conclusion. Most women with SLE have AO, increased adipose tissue mass, normal lean body mass, and decreased basal metabolism. There is a direct correlation of visceral fat content and inflammatory markers (CRP, complement component C3) and an inverse correlation of those with the SLEDAI-2K.