Body Composition of Children with Congenital Heart Disease
Date
2022-09-16
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Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is among the world’s leading birth abnormalities. Despite improvements in treatment and a steady rise in survival rates, children with CHD face significant health challenges in both the short- and long-term. This is highlighted by the fact that children with CHD have increased rates of obesity, morbidity, and health care costs in adulthood. Understanding the body composition of children with CHD will ensure better knowledge of its impact on health outcomes, while also allowing us to discover new ways to mitigate health disparities in this population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the body composition of children with CHD compared to healthy age- and sex- matched controls.
Methods: Body composition of 45 children with CHD (age = 11.3 ± 2.5, n = 21 females) and 40 healthy age- and sex- matched controls (age = 11.6 ± 2.5 y, n = 19 females) was assessed using full body dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Groups were split by sex. Age, height, and weight were compared between groups using independent sample t-tests. Body composition measurements (fat mass, lean mass, bone mineral content, bone mineral density, and bone area) were assessed by multiple analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) with age, height, and physical activity included as covariates. All analyses were performed using SPSS version 28 and significance was set at p<0.05.
Results: No significant differences between groups for age, height, weight, and BMI were found (p>0.05) (CHD vs control). However, when the sexes were compared, females in the control group had a significantly higher BMI than males in the control group. After assessing the fat-related body composition measures for females, there were no significant differences found between groups (CHD vs Control). Conversely, when fat-related body composition measures were assessed in males, there was a significant group difference such that the CHD group had higher total body percent fat mass (Total %BF), trunk fat mass (Trunk FM), and trunk percent fat mass (Trunk %FM) (p<0.05). No significant differences were found between the CHD and control group for lean mass and bone mass in both males and females.
Discussion: Our preliminary findings suggest that there were significant differences in fat-mass of males with CHD and their healthy counterparts. Future studies should focus on increasing the sample size, as this might influence the significance between groups.
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Keywords
Congenital Heart Disease, Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry, Fat Mass, Lean Mass, Bone Mineral Content
Citation
Degree
Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Department
Kinesiology
Program
Kinesiology