In maintenance hemodialysis patients lean body mass can be evaluated by bioelectrical impedance analysis

In maintenance hemodialysis patients (MHD) analysis of body composition is a key point to assess nutritional status. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is a reference method for a detailed assessment of fat mass (FM) and lean body mass (LBM). The reliability of single-frequency bioelectrical impedance (sf-BIA) versus multi-frequency (mf-BIA) to analyze body composition in MHD is debated. Aim: to evaluate the adequacy of sf-BIA and mf-BIA, in comparison with DXA, to evaluate LBM in MHD patients. Patients (9f, 18 m), 32-88 yrs, BW 42-94 kg, BMI 17.5-34.4 kg/m(2), on MHD since 0.5-17.4 years. LBM was measured, in the interdialytic period, with DXA and BIA,with 2 sf-BIA and with I mf-BIA analyzer. A very close correlation was found between LBM-BIA and LBM-DXA (R 0.901 - 0.921). Mean values of LBM were very similar with the different techniques. LBM was 45.1.1 +/- 8.8 kg (DXA); 45.1 +/- 8.5 (sfl-BILA); 45.8 +/- 8.8 (sf2-BIA); 44.4 +/- 11.5 (mf-BIA). Prediction errors were 3.4 kg for sf1-BIA, 4.0 kg for sf2-BIA, and 5.0 kg for mf-BIA. In conclusion, BIA is a reliable method to evaluate lean body mass in MHD.