DEUTERIUM AND BROMIDE DILUTION, AND BIOIMPEDANCE SPECTROMETRY INDEPENDENTLY SHOW THAT GROWTH HORMONE-DEFICIENT ADULTS HAVE AN ENLARGED EXTRACELLULAR WATER COMPARTMENT RELATED TO INTRACELLULAR WATER

GH has a strong influence on body composition. However, the effects of GH deficiency in adults on water compartments are not well understood . Therefore, extracellular water (ECW) and total body water were indep endently determined by deuterium and bromide dilution and by bioimpeda nce spectrometry in GH-deficient (GHD) adults and compared to those in controls, matched for age, sex, body weight, and height. The results show that the percent body fat was significantly (P < 0.05) higher, an d total body water and intracellular water(ICW) were significantly low er in GHD adults for males, females, and both sexes combined. ECW was not significantly different between the two groups. ECW/ICW in GHD adu lts (0.42 +/- 0.03) was significantly (P < 0.01) higher than that in c ontrols (0.39 +/- 0.02). There was a significant positive relation bet ween the ECW/ICW ratio and the percent body fat. These results were co nfirmed by the bioimpedance spectrometry measurements.