Prognostic significance of sarcopenia as determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer receiving gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel: A retrospective study.

Sarcopenia often affects patients with various types of cancer, and has been reported to affect patient prognosis and therapeutic effects. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no reports on the relationship between gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel combination therapy (GnP) and sarcopenia in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer. The present study analyzed the relationship between overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), response rate, disease control rate, adverse events (AEs) and sarcopenia in patients with pancreatic cancer treated with GnP. A total of 121 consecutive patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who received GnP as first-line chemotherapy between January 2015 and December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. GnP consisted of 1,000 mg/m2 gemcitabine and 125 mg/m2 nab-paclitaxel, which were administered on days 1, 8 and 15 every 4 weeks. The skeletal muscle index (SMI) was calculated using bioimpedance analysis (BIA) as an index of sarcopenia prior to GnP. The patients were divided into sarcopenia (n=41) and non-sarcopenia (n=80) groups using cutoff values of 8.87 and 6.42 kg/m2 for male and female patients, respectively. The sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups had a median OS of 8.1 and 13.9 months, respectively [hazard ratio (HR) 0.79; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53-1.20], and a median PFS of 4.3 and 6.3 months, respectively (HR 0.63; 95% CI 0.42-0.95). The response and disease controls rate were not statistically different between the groups (20 vs. 32%, P=0.20; 81 vs. 80%, P=1.0). In addition, comparison of common grade 3 and 4 AEs between the two groups revealed no statistically significant differences. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicated that SMI obtained by BIA may be a predictor of treatment response and prognosis in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who undergo GnP.

Influence of changes in body fat on clinical outcomes in a general population: a 12-year follow-up report on the Ansan-Ansung cohort in the Korean Genome Environment Study.

BACKGROUND: The impact of the changes in the obesity status on mortality has not been established; thus, we investigated the long-term influence of body fat (BF) changes on all-cause deaths and cardiovascular outcomes in a general population. METHODS: A total of 8374 participants were observed for 12 years. BF was measured at least two times using a bioimpedance method. The causes of death were acquired from the nationwide database. A major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) was defined as a composite of myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, stroke, and cardiovascular death. Standard deviations (SDs) were derived using a local regression model corresponding to the time elapsed between the initial and final BF measurements (SDT) and were used to standardize the changes in BF (ΔBF/SDT). RESULTS: The incidence rates of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and MACE were the highest in the participants with ΔBF/SDT <-1 and lowest in the participants with ΔBF/SDT ≥1. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for relevant covariates, including baseline obesity and physical activity, showed that the risks of all-cause deaths (hazard ratio [HR] 0.58; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.53-0.64), cardiovascular deaths (HR 0.63; 95% CI 0.51-0.78) and MACEs (HR 0.68; 95% CI 0.62-0.75) decreased as ΔBF/SDT increased. Subgroup analyses showed that existing cardiovascular diseases weakened the associations between higher ΔBF/SDT and better outcomes, while high physical activity and exercise did not impact the associations. CONCLUSION: Increasing BF was associated with a lower risk of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and MACE in the general population.Key messagesIncreasing body fat is associated with a lower risk of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and major cardiovascular adverse events in a low-risk ageing general population, independently of physical activity, underlying cardiovascular disease burden, changes in muscle mass, and baseline obesity status.Fatness measured at baseline requires adjustment for the changes in fatness during the follow-up to reveal its impact on the clinical outcomes.

How Length Sizes Affect Body Composition Estimation in Adolescent Athletes Using Bioelectrical Impedance.

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a common practice to assess body composition in athletes, however, when measuring athletes with specific body geometry, its accuracy may decrease. In this study we examined how length dimensions affect body composition estimation and we compared BIA and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) assessments in three sports. 738 male adolescent athletes (15.8 ± 1.4 years) from three sports (soccer, basketball, and handball) were measured. Body composition was estimated by BIA (InBody 720) and by DXA (Lunar Prodigy). Differences between the two methods were tested by Bland-Altman analysis and by paired t-test. ANOVA was used for inter-group comparisons. Pearson correlation and multivariate linear regression was used to look for the relationship between segmental lean body mass and length dimensions. BIAInBody 720 consistently underestimated percent body fat (PBF) and overestimated lean body mass (LBM) than DXA. The magnitude of the differences between the two methods varied among the examined sports. Handball (PBF = 8.3 ± 2.4 %; LBM = -5.0 ± 2.1 kg) and basketball players (PBF = 8.8 ± 2.3 %; LBM = -5.3 ± 1.8 kg) had significantly larger differences between the two methods than soccer players (PBF = 6.4 ± 2.2 %; LBM = -3.1 ± 1.4 kg). There was a negative correlation between differences in segmental LBM estimation and length sizes (trunk length, upper extremity length, lower extremity length). The highest correlation was found for lower extremity (r = -0.4). Longer lower extremity resulted in greater difference in LBM estimation. The differences between the sport disciplines are most probably attributed to body height differences. Length dimensions result in overestimation of LBM with BIA, thus body composition assessment with BIAInBody 720 needs to be carefully interpreted in athletes with extreme length sizes, especially, with basketball players.

Characteristics and differences of body composition in Yi of Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan / 解剖学报

Objective To analyze the characteristics and the differences of body composition in Yi of Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan. Methods Stature, body mass and body composition of 1556 Yi(male 757 case, famale 799 case) adults from Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan were investigated based on Anthropometric Method and the standard of Tanita company. Results The body mass index and percent body fat of Yi nationality people from Sichuan were significantly higher than that of those from Yunnan and Guizhou. The overall muscle and limb muscles of Yi nationality people from Sichuan were more developed than that of those from Sichuan and Yunnan. Yi nationality people from Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou all had the characters that muscle mass in right limb was higher than that in left. Conclusion Yi nationality people from Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou have great difference in body composition because of the diet and labour intensity.

Electrical bioimpedance measurement as a tool for dysphagia visualisation.

A non-invasive and portable bioimpedance method and a device for detecting superior to inferior closure of the pharynx during swallowing have been developed. The 2-channel device measures electric impedance across the neck at two levels of the pharynx via injected currents at 40 and 70 kHz. The device has been trialled on both healthy and dysphagic subjects. Results from these trials revealed a relationship (r = 0.59) between the temporal separation of the second peaks in the bioimpedance waveforms and descending pressure sequence in the pharynx as measured by pharyngeal manometry. However, these features were only clearly visible in the bioimpedance waveforms for 64% of swallows. Further research is underway to improve the bioimpedance measurement reliability and validate waveform feature correlation to swallowing to maximise the device's efficacy in dysphagia rehabilitation.