Novel comparative analysis and equation development for body volume estimation using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry in athletes

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2025

Authors

Silva, Tiago (Author) FCNAUP; Jesus, F. (Author) Other; Poínhos, Rui (Author) FCNAUP; Sardinha, L.B. (Author) Other; Teixeira, Vitor Hugo (Author) FCNAUP; Heymsfield, S.B. (Author) Other; Silva, A.M. (Author) Other

Journal

Title: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

ISSN: 0954-3007

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 0 Citations

Scientific classification

CORDIS: Health sciences

FOS: Medical and Health sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-018-AFE

DOI: 10.1038/s41430-025-01594-1

Abstract (EN): Background/objectivesDual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) has been suggested as an alternative method for estimating body volume (BV), a component of the reference four-compartment body composition model. This study reports the development and validation of DXA-BVSilva, a novel DXA-derived BV equation. An additional aim was to develop an estimate of lean soft tissue density (DLST), a key variable in the theory-based approach, by estimating total body protein with a six-compartment model.MethodsA sample of 332 athletes (36.7% females) from several sports were randomly assigned to either the development (n = 232) or cross-validation group (n = 100). DXA-BVSilva was developed via linear regression of DXA-measured fat, lean soft tissue, and bone mineral mass against BV measured with air displacement plethysmography (ADP). A DLST estimate of 1.064 kg/L (SD = 0.006) was obtained from a subset of the development sample comprising 201 athletes (36.3% females) with available measurements of total-body water by deuterium dilution, bone mineral by DXA and BV by ADP, enabling total-body protein determination from a six-compartment model.ResultsDXA-BVSilva provided the closest BV estimation (mean difference = 0.05 L, SD = 0.46 L; ES [95% CI] = 0.11 [-0.08; 0.31]) and the 95% limits of agreement (-0.86 to 0.96 L) were narrower than existing empirical equations.ConclusionWe conducted the first comparative analysis of both empirical and theoretical BV estimation methods using DXA, demonstrating the validity of DXA-BVSilva for BV estimation in athletes, presenting a robust alternative to ADP, with potential applications in multicomponent body composition models.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 8