ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To correlate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of body fat in preterm infants at the time of hospital discharge with same-day anthropometric measures, and to assess the clinical utility of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and WC/length ratio as indicators of visceral fat. STUDY DESIGN: MRI performed prior to NICU discharge in 25 infants born preterm atâ<32 weeks gestation. Total body fat and visceral fat were quantified using a commercial software program. The Pearson correlation coefficient (r, 95% C.I.) was used to describe strength of association between MRI fat and anthropometric measures. RESULTS: BMI and weight at discharge were strongly correlated with total body fat (râ=â0.95 and 0.89 respectively; pâ<â0.001). Total body fat as a % of body weight was moderately correlated with weight (râ=â0.53), WC (râ=â0.52), and BMI (râ=â0.47). Weight, BMI, and ponderal index all were found to correlate with total visceral fat (râ=â0.65, 0.64, 0.55 respectively) but WC did not (râ=â0.28). WC/length ratio was not correlated with any MRI fat measurements. CONCLUSIONS: BMI and weight at discharge both correlate with MRI fat measurements. Our findings do not support the usefulness of measuring WC or WC/length ratio in preterm infants at term-equivalent age.