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Endocrine Abstracts (2023) 90 EP1108 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.90.EP1108

ECE2023 Eposter Presentations Late Breaking (91 abstracts)

Utility of nutritional ultrasound for body composition in patients affected by obesity and overweight. Utility of nutritional ultrasound for body composition in patients affected by obesity and overweight

Rossella Tozzi 1 , Yaiza García Delgado 2 , Rosa María Sánchez Hernández 3 , Yaiza Gil Quintana 3 , Diego Hernandez Hernandez 2 , Verónica Dávila 3 , Mauro Boronat 2 , Stefania Mariani 4 , Lucio Gnessi 4 & Anna Maria Claudia Wägner 3


1Sapienza University of Rome, Molecular Medicine, Roma, Italy, 2Hospital Materno Infantil de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, 3Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, 4Sapienza University of Rome, Experimental Medicine, Roma, Italy


Background and aim: Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is considered the gold standard to evaluate BC, even if it requires the use of radiations, an expensive equipment and cannot be performed at the patient’s bedside. Nutritional ultrasound (NU) evaluates BC through the assessment of muscle mass and the abdominal subcutaneous (superficial and deep-layer) and visceral adipose tissue. We aimed at comparing the accuracy and reliability of this emerging tool with DXA in patients with overweight or I grade obesity.

Materials and methods: Patients attending the Complejo hospitalario Universitario Insular Materno-Infantil de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (España) with a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 34.9 kg/m2 were enrolled. NU (Esaote Medica, high frequency 12 MHz probe) was performed at the level of the QRF (lower third of the leg) for the evaluation of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and QRF circumference(mm); abdominal ultrasound measured total superficial fat (abdSAT) deep fat and pre-peritoneal fat (PAT). BC by DXA (Hologic) included the following parameters: Fat mass (FM gr, %), Free fat mass, Trunk fat mass gr, %), Total lean mass (LM), trunk lean mass.

Results: 114 patients (40 males) were included. BMI was 29.9 ± 2.8 kg/m2 and mean age was 53.9 ± 9.9 years. FM was 35.7±7.3%, while trunk fat mass was 36.6 ±6.7%. After adjustment for age and sex, leg SAT showed a significant correlation with FM gr (r=0.42, P< 0.001), FM % (r=0.45, P< 0.001), trunk fat % (r=0.27, P0.004). QRF circumference had a significant association with LM (P=0.005), leg lean and trunk lean (P< 0.05). AbdSAT, and PAT reported strong association with total fat and trunk fat apposition;in particular deep abdominal fat and trunk fat % (r=0.47, P<0.001). After stratification for gender, male reported a better correlation between QRF and trunk lean (r= 0.46, P< 0.005) and between abdSAT and trunk fat %(r= 0.5, P< 0.005), compared to females, which instead reported an higher correlation index between PAT and trunk fat(r=0.41, P< 0.001).

Discussion and conclusions: NU demonstrated to reach good correlations with the gold standard technique for BC, with the advantage of no X-ray exposure and more feseability. QRF evaluation seems to be more predictive of lean mass in males, and abdSAT seems to be more accurate for visceral apposition. PAT was the better NU index for the visceral obesity in females. Studies with higher sample power are needed in order to validate extend the use of NU for BC in clinical settings.

Volume 90

25th European Congress of Endocrinology

Istanbul, Turkey
13 May 2023 - 16 May 2023

European Society of Endocrinology 

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