Association of X-ray Absorptiometry Body Composition Measurements with Basic Anthropometrics and Mortality Hazard

Nir Y. Krakauer and Jesse C. Krakauer
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Nir Y. Krakauer: Department of Civil Engineering, City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA
Jesse C. Krakauer: Associated Physicians/Endocrinology, Berkley, MI 48072, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-13

Abstract: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is a non-invasive imaging modality that can estimate whole-body and regional composition in terms of fat, lean, and bone mass. We examined the ability of DEXA body composition measures (whole-body, trunk, and limb fat mass and fat-free mass) to predict mortality in conjunction with basic body measures (anthropometrics), expressed using body mass index (BMI) and a body shape index (ABSI). We used data from the 1999–2006 United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), with mortality follow-up to 2015. We found that all DEXA-measured masses were highly correlated with each other and with ABSI and that adjustment for BMI and ABSI reduced these dependencies. Whole-body composition did not substantially improve mortality prediction compared to basic anthropometrics alone, but regional composition did, with high trunk fat-free mass and low limb fat-free mass both associated with elevated mortality risk. These findings illustrate how DEXA body composition could guide health assessment in conjunction with the more widely employed simple anthropometrics.

Keywords: dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; obesity; sarcopenia; risk assessment; anthropometry; body shape (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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