Clinical Interventions in Aging (Jan 2015)
Comparison of percentage body fat and body mass index for the prediction of inflammatory and atherogenic lipid risk profiles in elderly women
Abstract
Silvana Schwerz Funghetto,1 Alessandro de Oliveira Silva,2 Nuno Manuel Frade de Sousa,3 Marina Morato Stival,1 Ramires Alsamir Tibana,4 Leonardo Costa Pereira,1 Marja Letícia Chaves Antunes,1 Luciano Ramos de Lima,1 Jonato Prestes,4 Ricardo Jacó Oliveira,1 Maurílio Tiradentes Dutra,2 Vinícius Carolino Souza,1,4 Dahan da Cunha Nascimento,4 Margô Gomes de Oliveira Karnikowski1 1University of Brasília (UnB), Brasília, DF, Brazil; 2Center University of Brasilia (UNICEUB), Brasilia, DF, Brazil; 3Laboratory of Exercise Physiology, Faculty Estácio de Sá of Vitória, ES, Brazil; 4Catholic University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil Objective: To compare the clinical classification of the body mass index (BMI) and percentage body fat (PBF) for the prediction of inflammatory and atherogenic lipid profile risk in older women.Method: Cross-sectional analytical study with 277 elderly women from a local community in the Federal District, Brazil. PBF and fat-free mass (FFM) were determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. The investigated inflammatory parameters were interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein.Results: Twenty-five percent of the elderly women were classified as normal weight, 50% overweight, and 25% obese by the BMI. The obese group had higher levels of triglycerides and very low-density lipoproteins than did the normal weight group (P≤0.05) and lower levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) than did the overweight group (P≤0.05). According to the PBF, 49% of the elderly women were classified as eutrophic, 28% overweight, and 23% obese. In the binomial logistic regression analyses including age, FFM, and lipid profile, only FFM (odds ratio [OR]=0.809, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.739–0.886; P<0.0005) proved to be a predictor of reaching the eutrophic state by the BMI. When the cutoff points of PBF were used for the classification, FFM (OR=0.903, CI=0.884–0.965; P=0.003) and the total cholesterol/HDL ratio (OR=0.113, CI=0.023–0.546; P=0.007) proved to be predictors of reaching the eutrophic state.Conclusion: Accurate identification of obesity, systemic inflammation, and atherogenic lipid profile is key to assessing the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Classification based on dual energy X-ray absorptiometry measures, along with biochemical and inflammatory parameters, seems to have a great clinical importance, since it allows the lipid profile eutrophic distinction in elderly overweight women. Keywords: lipids, aging, body fat, women, body mass index, health profile