Association Between Body Mass Index and Body Fat in Chronic Kidney Disease Stages 3 to 5, Hemodialysis, and Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Objective

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients may present with altered body composition. Body mass index (BMI) is a simple method for evaluating body fat mass (FM) in the general population. In CKD patients, there are few reports demonstrating the association between BMI and body composition. Our objective was to investigate the reliability of BMI as an indicator of FM in patients with CKD stages 3 to 5.

Methods

Seventy-eight nondiabetic CKD patients (aged 48, SD ± 12 years; 45% male) and 30 healthy control subjects (aged 46, SD ± 12 years; 40% male), matched for age and sex, were evaluated. Chronic kidney disease patients were divided, according to K/DOQI guidelines, into 27 subjects at stages 3 to 4 (mean glomerular filtration rate of 43 ± 12 mL/minute; age, 52 ± 10 years), and 51 at stage 5: 25 in hemodialysis (HD) (aged 45, SD ± 12 years; 44% male), and 26 in peritoneal dialysis (PD) (aged 49, SD ± 13 years; 42% male). Body mass index was calculated as weight/height², and body composition was evaluated through dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.

Results

There was no difference in median BMI (kg/m²) among healthy control subjects (24.8; range, 19.2–34.1), CKD stages 3 to 4 (26.4; range, 20.4–37.6), HD patients (24.5; range, 19.4–35.7), and PD patients (24.5; range, 20.2–37.7; P > .05). Likewise, no significant difference was verified in median body FM (kg) among control subjects (18.8; range, 9.2–36.5), CKD stages 3 to 4 (21.2; range, 11.6–37.9), HD patients (17.1; range, 4.8–38.9), and PD patients (20.1; range, 6.5–41.5; P > .05). Moreover, a positive and significant correlation was found between BMI and FM (kg) in CKD stages 3 to 4 (Rho = 0.67, P = .0002), in HD patients (Rho = 0.67, P = .0002), in PD patients (Rho = 0.79, P < .0001), and in control subjects (Rho = 0.79, P < .0001). Although BMI and lean body mass (in kg) was significantly correlated in CKD stages 3 to 4 (Rho = 0.58, P = .001) and healthy control subjects (Rho = 0.30, P = .007), no significant correlation was found in HD patients (Rho = 0.19, P = .34) and in PD patients (Rho = 0.17, P = .38).

Conclusions

Body composition did not differ in patients with CKD stages 3 to 5, and between dialysis modalities. Although BMI was strongly and significantly correlated with body FM in CKD patients at stages 3 to 5, lean body mass was not. These findings suggest that BMI is a reliable indicator of body FM in this CKD population.