Bioelectrical impedance analysis of the body composition of Nigerian children with sickle cell disease

We used bioelectrical impedance (BIA) to investigate the body composition o f children with sickle cell disease (SCD) in northern Nigeria. A total of 4 8 children with SCD and 51 controls between 3 and 20 gears of age were stud ied. A significant difference was found in the weights of male subjects ove r the age of 10 years compared to controls (p = 0.01), but not in height. S ignificant differences were also observed for SCD males in the 10-18-year-o ld age range in body mass index (p = 0.001), fat free mass (p = 0.001), per cent fat free mass, (p = 0.02), body fat (p = 0.02), and per cent body fat (p = 0.02), No significant differences in any of these parameters between SCD subjects and controls were obtained for males under the age of 10 years . There were no significant differences in the height, weight, body mass in dex, or fat free mass for female SCD subjects compared to controls over the age range we studied. However, there were significant differences in the p er cent fat free mass (p = 0.006), body fat (p = 0.025), and per cent body fat (p = 0.01) for female SCD subjects over the age of 10 years compared to controls. In addition to documenting differences in the body composition o f adolescent boys with sickle cell disease in Nigeria, this study also demo nstrated the feasibility of using bioelectrical impedance to analyse the bo dy composition of individuals under the hot, arid conditions which prevail in sub-Saharan Africa.