H5 Calf circumference and body composition in huntington’s disease

BackgroundPatients with HD are at risk of malnutrition due to increased energy consumption; chorea; alteration in chewing, swallowing, mobility and cognitive functions; but on the other hand they are usually treated with antipsychotic drugs implicated as a risk factor for the development of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Bioelectrical Impedance Assessment (BIA) is a good method for body compartments estimates, but on the other hand anthropometric methods could be cheaper.AimsTo validate anthropometrics as a cheaper method compared to BIA to predict risk for malnutrition in HD in terms of body fat mass, fat free mass in patients with HD.MethodsMulticentric cross-sectional study. Patients with genetically confirmed HD were included. Body composition was measured using the single-frequency (BIA) Tanita® BC418MA, and anthropometric methods (height, calf circumference, and waist circumference) were measured using a soft nonstretchable tape midway.ResultsThirty HD patients with 53% women and a mean age of 57 ± 13 years, BMI 24.1 ± 4.2, waist 86.8 ± 14.3 cm, waist to height ratio 0.53 ± 0.08 were included. According to the WHO classification, 10% of patients were underweighted, 50% normal, 27% overweighted, and 13% obese. Fat free mass was highly correlated with calf circumference (rs = 0.78, p < 0.0001) and moderately correlated with BMI (rs = 0.44, p < 0.023).ConclusionsAnthropometric measures such as calf circumference are highly correlated with fat free mass and can be used as a biomarker. In HD patients, low muscle mass is associated with deterioration of physical function. Further studies are needed to confirm our results.AcknowledgementWe gratefully acknowledge to Gerencia Regional de Salud of Junta de Castilla y León for financial support to this work.