Correlation of Dehydration with Body Mass Index and Blood Lipid Levels

ABSTRACT

Maintaining adequate fluid balance is essential for all biological functions in the body. The purpose of this study was to evaluate vulnerability to dehydration by analyzing age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and blood lipid parameters in health checkup examinees who visited Sahmyook Seoul Hospital for comprehensive health checkups. In a binary logistic regression analysis stratified by age and body mass index the odd ratio for dehydration was as high as 3.317 (95% CI 1.666~6.605) in the 50s age group, 4.224 (95% CI 2.038~8.755) in the 60s age group, and 4.610 (95% CI 1.943~10.940) in the above 70s age group compared to 20s reference age group. Aged females showed greater vulnerability to dehydration with significance levels of P<0.01 and P<0.001. Compared to a normal weight (BMI 18.5~22.9) the odd ratio was higher in males with an under weight (BMI less than 18.5) (5.130 [95% CI 1.631~16.132]) and in females with an over weight (BMI 23.0~24.9) (1.500 [95% CI 1.065~2.114]). In conclusion, our results showed that vulnerability to dehydration increased with age and was higher in under weight males and over weight females than that in normal weight.