Assessment of body composition of adult Bulgarian patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus by bioelectrical impedance analysis

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate how type 1 diabetes mellitus affects adult Bulgarians’ body composition.Materials and methods: One hundred and twenty patients (60 men and 60 women) aged 20 to 40 years, as well as 80 healthy men and women, were enrolled in the study. Bioelectrical impedance indicators: body fat tissue percentage (%BFT), total body water percentage (%TBW), visceral fat tissue (VFT), muscle mass (MM), and bone mass (BM) and derived indicators: total fat mass (TFM), active body mass (ABM), active body mass percentage (%ABM), ABM index (ABMI), and BMI were defined.Results: The mean values of %BFT, VFT, TFM, and BMI were significantly higher in the female patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus while the mean values of %TBW, %ABM, and ABMI were significantly higher in healthy women. The mean values of VFM and ABMI were significantly higher in the male patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus while the mean values of MM and ABM were significantly higher in healthy men. Bioelectrical impedance analysis of the body composition in Bulgarian female patients exhibited an increase in the accumulation of adipose connective tissue both generally and viscerally. The total body water percentage in the female patients was significantly lower than in the healthy controls. The body composition of Bulgarian male patients exhibited an increase in the accumulation of visceral adipose tissue only. The skeletal muscle tissue in male patients exhibited a decrease in comparison to healthy men.Conclusion: We believe that these findings are consequence of the impact of type 1 diabetes mellitus on the body composition in Bulgarian patients.