Bio-electric impedance analysis of body composition and glycaemic control in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes in south-east, Nigeria

Background: Metabolic derangements in diabetes grossly affect components of body composition particularly the fat mass. Adequate glycaemic control is key to the reduction of risks of associated complications.Objectives: To determine the pattern of glycaemic control and body composition in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).Methodology: This was a cross sectional descriptive study conducted in three centres in South-East Nigeria. Subjects were T1DM patients attending diabetic clinics at the hospitals who were consecutively recruited while controls were normal school children.Body composition was determined using bio-electrical impedance analysis method. Data was collected using a semi -structured proforma designed for the study and was subsequently analysed using SPSS version 22.0. The level of statistical significance was set at p< 0.05.Results: A total of 108 children and adolescents comprising 54 diabetic patients and 54 controls (age and sex matched) were studied. The mean age of the subjects was 16.3 ± 3.5 years.Majority of the patients had high HbA1c, with a mean and range values of 11.3 ± 2.4 and 7.0 – 13.0%, respectively. The body composition parameters among subjects including the body mass index, skeletal muscle percentage, visceral fat percentage and resting metabolic rate were lower than that of the controls.Conclusion: A majority of the subjects had poor glycaemic control with overall lower measured body composition parameters. There is need to improve glycaemic control and maintain normal body composition in children and adolescents with T1DM in order to minimize the risks of diabetic complications in them.Keywords: Body composition; Glycaemic control; Children; Adolescents