Body composition analysis and adipocytokine concentrations in haemodialysis patients: Abdominal fat gain as an added cardiovascular risk factor. Abdominal fat gain and cardiovascular risk

Abstract Introduction Abdominal fat and its increment over time in particular has become a cardiovascular risk factor in uraemic patients. Objectives To analyse changes in abdominal fat in haemodialysis patients over one year and study their possible correlation with the variation in adipocytokine serum levels. As a secondary objective, we tried to validate the data obtained by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) with data obtained by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Material and methods A prospective one-year study was performed in 18 patients on haemodialysis (HD). In each patient, body composition by BIA and DXA was estimated at baseline and after one year. Several adipocytokine and biochemical parameters were determined. Results A significant increase in phase angle [4.8° (4.1–5.6) vs. 5.2° (4.4–5.8), p p p p Conclusion HD patients exhibit a gain in fat mass over time, especially in the abdomen, evidenced by an increased A/G ratio. These findings might explain the increased cardiovascular risk in these patients.