Evolution of age-associated bioelectrical parameters in children and adolescents aged 2-16 years

Abstract

Introduction: The physiological changes that manifest in children and adolescents during their growth and development have a significant impact on their adult life. Objective: To evaluate the evolution of physiological changes in 2 samples of children and adolescents using bioelectrical impedance vector analysis. Methods: Two samples of infant-juvenile populations of both sexes were used, a Cuban sample of 1067 individuals and an Italian sample of 1823, from two databases. The nomogram and the linear fit to each sample were performed, based on a mathematical model of the form characterize the trajectory of the data of each sample. Results: In the Cuban sample, the mean impedance vectors overlap from the 2 age group to the 12 age group. From the age of 13 years, the vectors of both sexes separate. In the Italian sample, these vectors overlap from the age group 2 years to the age group 13 years. From the 14 to 15 age group, the vectors of both sexes are separate. Both samples followed a straight line, decreasing with increasing age. Conclusions: The changes that occur in the bioelectrical vectors from childhood to adolescence are due to modifications in the stages that lead from childhood to puberty from the physiological point of view.

Keywords

• adolescencia
• composición corporal
• crecimiento y desarrollo
• impedancia bioeléctrica
• resistencia eléctrica.