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American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 79, No. 4, 653-660, April 2004
© 2004 American Society for Clinical Nutrition

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION

Validation of a new pediatric air-displacement plethysmograph for assessing body composition in infants1,2,3,4

Guansheng Ma, Manjiang Yao, Yan Liu, Aiwei Lin, Hui Zou, Alessandro Urlando, William W Wong, Laurie Nommsen-Rivers and Kathryn G Dewey

1 From the National Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing (GM); Life Measurement, Inc, Concord, CA (MY and AU); the Maternity and Child Care Hospital (YL and HZ) and the School of Public Health (AL), Shandong University, Jinan, China; the US Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston (WWW); and the Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis (LN-R and KGD).

2 The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the US Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US Government.

3 Supported by Life Measurement, Inc, Concord, CA.

4 Address reprint requests to KG Dewey, Department of Nutrition, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616. E-mail: kgdewey{at}ucdavis.edu.


   ABSTRACT
TOP
 ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
 SUBJECTS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Background: The accurate measurement of body composition is useful in assessments of infant growth and nutritional status.

Objective: This study evaluated the reliability and accuracy of a new air-displacement plethysmography (ADP) system for body-composition assessment in infants.

Design: Between- and within-day reliability was assessed by comparing the percentage body fat (%BF) obtained on consecutive days and on the same day, respectively, in 36 full-term infants. Accuracy was assessed by comparing %BF measured with the use of ADP and %BF measured with the use of deuterium (2H2O) dilution in 53 infants.

Results: There were no significant differences in %BF between days (-0.50 ± 1.21%BF) or within days (0.16 ± 1.44%BF). Mean between- and within-day test-retest SDs of 0.69 and 0.72%BF, respectively, indicated excellent reliability. The %BF measurements obtained by using ADP were not significantly influenced by infant behavioral state. Mean %BF obtained by using ADP (20.32%BF) did not differ significantly from that obtained by using 2H2O dilution (20.39%BF), and the regression line [%BF(2H2O) = 0.851%BF (ADP) + 3.094] gave a high R2 (0.76) and a low SEE (3.26). The 95% limits of agreement between ADP and 2H2O (-6.84%BF, 6.71%BF) were narrower than those reported for other body-composition techniques used in infants. Individual differences between the 2 methods were not a function of body mass or fatness.

Conclusion: ADP is a reliable and accurate instrument for determining %BF in infants, and it has the potential for use in both research and clinical settings.

Key Words: Body composition • percentage body fat • infants • air-displacement plethysmography • deuterium dilution • total body water


   INTRODUCTION
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Accurate assessment of body composition during infancy provides key information for monitoring and evaluating growth patterns, efficacy of diet and medical interventions, progression of chronic disease, and recovery from malnutrition. In addition, because of the significant association between early infant development and childhood obesity (1), and in light of the remarkable increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States and worldwide (2, 3), body-composition assessment during infancy has the potential to become an important research and diagnostic tool for the study and prevention of child and adult obesity.

Despite the potential usefulness of body-composition assessment in infants, the methods that are available to researchers and clinicians, such as isotope dilution, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), total-body electrical conductivity, bioelectrical impedance analysis, total body potassium, and skinfold-thickness measurements, have been used sporadically and with very limited success. Among the reasons for this are ethical and practical considerations, complexity, cost, lack of sufficient data regarding validity, or any combination of those factors. Researchers and clinicians therefore continue to seek a body-composition assessment method for use in the pediatric population that is safe, noninvasive, easy to perform, comfortable for subjects, relatively inexpensive, reliable, and accurate.

Air-displacement plethysmography (ADP) is a densitometric technique in which the percentage body fat (%BF) is assessed from the direct measurement of subject mass and volume. Subject mass is measured on an electronic scale. Subject volume is measured in an enclosed chamber by applying gas laws that relate pressure changes to volumes of air in the enclosed chamber. With the use of a subtraction technique, these air volumes are used to calculate the subject’s volume. Body density is then computed from the measured subject mass and volume and inserted into a standard formula for estimating %BF according to a 2-compartment model, such as the models of Siri (4) or Brozek et al (5) for adults, Lohman (6) for children, and Butte et al (7) for infants. ADP has been successfully used to measure the body composition of children and adults (8–14), and a study by Yee et al (15) suggests that it is also a valid method for use in the elderly. Previous attempts to apply ADP to the infant population have failed because of technical and practical issues (16, 17).

The only commercially available ADP system for use in children, adults, and the elderly is the BOD POD Body Composition Tracking System (Life Measurement, Inc, Concord, CA). The success of the BOD POD system in terms of its high accuracy and reliability in body-composition assessment, as indicated in published research and clinical studies (11), prompted the development of a new ADP system for infants, the PEA POD Infant Body Composition System (Life Measurement, Inc).

Two background studies, one using inanimate objects (18) and the other using bovine tissue phantoms (19), were conducted to evaluate the performance of this ADP system. The design of the ADP system and the reliability and accuracy results from these studies indicate that ADP has the potential to provide a body-composition measurement tool that is easily used by operators, comfortable for infants, reliable, and accurate. In addition, results from our preliminary evaluation of the ADP system used in human infants indicated that the reliability of ADP was significantly better than that of currently available techniques for body-composition assessment of infants (20).

In the present study, a comprehensive evaluation of the reliability and accuracy of the ADP system in assessing infant body composition was conducted. Deuterium (2H2O) dilution was the reference technique used to assess the accuracy of the ADP system.


   SUBJECTS AND METHODS
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 SUBJECTS AND METHODS
RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Subjects
In total, 80 full-term healthy infants took part in the present study. The study was conducted at the University of California, Davis (n = 17), and at the Jinan Maternity and Child Care Hospital, Jinan, China (n = 63). The racial distribution was 64 Asian and 16 white infants. The reliability of the ADP system was assessed in a subsample of 36 infants (20 male, 16 female): 17 from Davis and 19 from Jinan. The racial distribution was 20 Asian and 16 white infants. The ranges of age, body mass, and length were 0.4–21.7 wk, 2.7–7.4 kg, and 48.2–65.7 cm, respectively. Subjects were selected so that the 3 categories of body mass would include similar numbers of subjects: n = 14 weighing 2–4 kg, 12 weighing 4–6 kg, and 10 weighing 6–8 kg.

The accuracy of the ADP system was assessed in a subsample of 63 Asian infants (32 male, 31 female), all from Jinan. Of these 63 infants, 2 dropped out during the study, and results from another 5 were excluded from data analysis because they regurgitated > 1 g milk within 2 h of the 2H2O dose administration. In addition, the %BF values determined from 2H2O dilution in 3 of these subjects were excluded from data analysis because the values were extreme outliers: 2 were negative (-8.38 and -2.25), and 1 value was considered impossibly low (1.89). Because these 3 subjects were involved only in the accuracy portion of the study, their corresponding %BF values obtained by using ADP (13.43, 13.84, and 6.08, respectively) were also excluded from data analysis. Consequently, results from 53 subjects were used for the analysis of ADP accuracy. For these infants, the age, body mass, and length ranges were 0.4–24.4 wk, 2.7–7.4 kg, and 48.2–64.7 cm, respectively. Of the 53 subjects who took part in this portion of the study, 19 were also involved in the assessment of ADP reliability.

At both study sites, approval to conduct the study was obtained from the respective human subjects review committees. Written informed consent was obtained from the mothers of the subjects before any measurements were conducted.

General protocol
The reliability of ADP measurements was assessed by using the following protocol: 1 ADP test was conducted on study day 1 [test 1, day 1 (T1D1)], and 2 ADP tests were conducted on study day 2 [test 1, day 2 (T1D2) and test 2, day 2 (T2D2), respectively]. The between- and within-day reliability of the ADP system were then evaluated by comparing %BF from T1D1 with that from T1D2 and that from T1D2 with that from T2D2, respectively. For the 19 subjects who participated in both the reliability and accuracy portions of the study, an additional ADP test was performed on study day 1 [test 2, day 1 (T2D1)], and the data from that test were used with data from T1D1 to assess the accuracy of ADP measurements.

The accuracy of ADP measurements was assessed by using the following protocol: 2 ADP tests were performed on study day 1 (T1D1 and T2D1), and those tests were followed by performance of a 2H2O dilution measurement. The accuracy of the ADP system was evaluated by comparing the mean %BF from the 2 ADP tests performed on day 1 with the %BF calculated from the total-body water value determined by using 2H2O dilution on the same day.

ADP system
A detailed description of the physical design and operating principles of the ADP system is provided elsewhere (18, 19). Briefly, the ADP system is a pediatric air-displacement plethysmograph designed to assess the body composition of infants by the direct measurement of body mass and body volume and the application of the principles of whole-body densitometry.

The ADP system components are mounted on or housed in a movable cart. The test chamber, electronic scale, and monitor are mounted on the cart’s top surface, and the reference chamber, calibration volume container, and air circulation and air heating systems are housed inside the cart along with the electronic components, printer, and computer. A volume-perturbing diaphragm is mounted between the test and reference chambers. A calibration valve allows the test chamber to be connected to the calibration volume container. Pressure transducers are connected to the 2 chambers. The air circulation system continuously circulates air from the outside environment to the test chamber. The temperature of the air circulated within the test chamber is also maintained constant by the air heating system—in this study, at 31 °C. The heating system can be set, however, to keep the temperature of the air in the test chamber constant at temperatures between 31 and 37 °C.

The relations between pressure and volume expressed by Boyle’s law and Poisson’s law, which describe the behavior of air under isothermal and adiabatic conditions, respectively, are used in the ADP system to measure body volume. When the system is in operation, the diaphragm’s oscillations create in the 2 chambers sinusoidal volume perturbations that are equal in magnitude but opposite in sign. For a known reference chamber volume, varying test chamber volumes are a linear function of the ratios of the pressure perturbations in the 2 chambers. Two volume calibrations, one before and one after the measurement of subject’s volume, are performed to increase the accuracy of ADP volume measurements. Because ADP measures volume with the assumption that all the air in the test chamber behaves adiabatically, a correction for air that is maintained under isothermal conditions (ie, air close to the subject’s surface and in the subject’s lungs) is then performed automatically. Using the body mass and volume measurements, the ADP system then automatically calculates %BF by using a classic densitometric approach and age- and sex-specific fat-free mass (FFM) density values. For this study, the FFM density values used were obtained from a multicompartmental study by Butte et al (7).

Before an ADP system test, the following specific steps must be performed to ensure the accuracy of the mass and volume measurements. The subject’s length is measured, and that measurement is used to quantify the isothermal volumes of air close to the subject’s surface and in the subject’s lung. On day 1 of this study, subject length was measured twice to the nearest 0.1 cm with the use of a length board (CMS Weighing Equipment, London). The mean of the 2 length measurements was used for all subsequent ADP system tests performed on days 1 and 2. To allow for a precise quantification of the amount of air behaving isothermally in the test chamber, subjects must not be wearing any clothing during the ADP test, and the amount of air behaving isothermally in the proximity of their hair must be reduced. In this study, subjects were tested while nude, and their hair was smoothed down with the use of baby oil.

Before initiating data collection for this study, the logistic aspects of ADP system testing were assessed at Davis in a sample of 15 infants. This assessment comprised the evaluation of the optimal timing of measurements, of the procedures for collecting data, and of the initial studies of reliability by using a first-generation ADP instrument. The data obtained were used to modify the instrument to enhance reliability and comfort through altering the frequency of the diaphragm’s oscillations and adding a heating system and an air circulation system.

At both locations, the same ADP system was used, and the ability of the ADP system to measure volume was evaluated before each testing session by measuring the volume of a National Institute of Standards and Technology (Gaithersburg, MD)-traceable aluminum cylinder. Test results indicated consistent and similar performance at both locations. The scale was also calibrated before each testing session. Each ADP test was performed according to the following sequence. Subject data (sex, length, and age) were entered, and subject mass was measured on the ADP electronic scale while the first automatic volume calibration was taking place. The volume calibration procedure lasted 2 min, and at its end, the test chamber door opened automatically. The tray was then pulled out of the clear acrylic test chamber, and the subject was placed in it. To start the first of 3 volume measurements, the tray and subject were pushed back into the chamber, and the test chamber door was closed. Pressure changes were then measured in the test and reference chambers for 2 min. Data collection ended with the automatic opening of the test chamber door. The same volume measurement procedure was performed twice more. After the subject was removed from the test chamber, a second automatic volume calibration, identical to the first one, was performed. The subject’s body volume was computed as the average of the volume values obtained during the 3 measurement periods. The %BF results were then displayed. For each of the 3 volume measurements performed in each test, the subject’s behavioral state was recorded according to the following categories: deep sleep, sleep with rapid eye movement, drowsy, quiet and alert, awake and active, and crying intensely. It was also noted whether subjects urinated or defecated during a measurement. On 3 occasions, as a result of subjects’ crying and at the request of their parents, tests were interrupted. These tests were repeated after the infants were comforted.

Deuterium dilution
The following procedure was followed to measure subjects’ total body water by using 2H2O dilution. On completion of the 2 ADP tests on day 1, a baseline blood sample (0.25–0.30 mL) from each infant was drawn into a potassium- and EDTA-coated microvette (0.5 mL; Sarstedt Inc, Princeton, NJ) by heel-stick (Quickheel Lancet; Becton Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ). Each infant then received by mouth a dose of 1 g of 10% 2H2O/kg body mass through a 10-mL plastic syringe to which a short length of feeding tube was attached. The exact dose given was determined by weighing the feeding apparatus on an analytic balance before and after dose administration. Two hours after dose administration, a second blood sample (0.25–0.30 mL) was collected by heel-stick. The exact times of dosing and of the baseline and 2-h postdose blood samplings were recorded. Within 3 h of blood sample collection, the plasma was separated by centrifugation at 2500 rpm for 20 min at 4 °C. All plasma samples were transferred to O-ring screw-top microtubes (1.25 mL; Sarstedt Inc) and stored at -20 °C before they were shipped on dry ice to the US Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service Children’s Nutrition Research Center in Houston for gas isotope ratio-mass spectrometry analysis (21).

For hydrogen isotope ratio measurements, 10 µL of plasma without further treatment was reduced to hydrogen gas with the use of 200 mg zinc reagent at 500 °C for 30 min (22). The 2H:1H isotope ratios of the hydrogen gas were measured by using a Finnigan {delta}-E gas isotope ratio-mass spectrometer (Finnigan MAT, San Jose, CA). The results are expressed in delta ({delta}) per mil (0/00) units, which are defined as follows:

(1)
where Rx and Rs are the 2H:1H isotope ratios of the sample and standard, respectively. The {delta}2H values were normalized against 2 international water standards: Vienna-Standard Mean Ocean Water and Standard Light Antarctic Precipitation (23).

Total body water was calculated as follows:

(2)
where d is the dose of 2H2O in grams, A is the amount of laboratory water in grams used in the dose dilution, a is the amount of 2H2O in grams added to the laboratory water in the dose dilution, Ea is the rise in 2H abundance in the laboratory water after the addition of the isotopic water, and Ed is the rise in 2H abundance in the plasma after 2 h of equilibration.

FFM was determined from the total body water by using age- and sex-specific hydration coefficients for FFM calculated with the use of data from a multicompartmental study performed in infants by Butte et al (7). The %BF was computed as

(3)

Statistical analysis
Data were analyzed by using SPSS for WINDOWS (version 10.0; SPSS Inc, Chicago) and SAS for WINDOWS (version 8e; SAS Institute Inc, Cary, NC). Statistical significance was accepted at P < 0.05. Values are expressed as ± SD.

Paired-sample t tests were performed to detect significant between-day (T1D1 compared with T1D2) and within-day (T1D2 compared with T2D2) differences in %BF. To assess the agreement of the between- and within-day %BF estimates, linear regression analyses and Bland-Altman analyses were carried out. Between- and within-day SDs and CVs for %BF estimates were calculated, and the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to assess whether SDs and CVs were a function of body mass. Considering separately each of the 3 volume/%BF measurements during each ADP test (with a total of 3 ADP tests: T1D1, T1D2, and T2D2), we conducted a mixed-effect linear model procedure (using PROC MIXED of SAS), which uses a repeated-measures analysis approach, and Tukey’s honestly significant difference multiple-comparison procedure to examine the least-squares means and to determine whether within-subject %BF estimates obtained from ADP differed by behavioral state and by urination. We made comparisons among the behavioral states of quiet and alert, awake and active, and crying intensely. Because the percentage of ADP measurements completed in other behavioral states (ie, sleep, drowsy, and defecation) was < 3%, and thus the sample sizes in these states were very low, these rare states were excluded from the analysis. In addition, regression analysis was performed to examine whether %BF estimates obtained by using ADP differed significantly between white and Asian infants. Potential confounding variables, including age, sex, and body weight, were included in the regression model. An independent-sample t test was performed to examine whether the reliability of the ADP system, indicated by between- and within-day SDs and CVs, was influenced by race.

A paired-sample t test was conducted to detect a significant difference between the %BF values determined by ADP and by 2H2O dilution. To determine how well %BF obtained from ADP reflected 2H2O-derived %BF, %BF determined by 2H2O was regressed on %BF obtained from ADP. Bland-Altman analysis was also conducted to assess the agreement between the 2 methods in individual subjects and for trends associated with subjects’ body fatness. Moreover, regression analysis was performed to assess whether the individual differences in the %BF values obtained by using the 2 methods were a function of body mass.


   RESULTS
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 SUBJECTS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
The physical characteristics of the subjects involved in both the reliability and accuracy portions of the study are shown in Table 1Go. The mean and range values for age, body mass, and height of the infants who were involved in the reliability portion of the study were comparable with those of the subjects who were involved in the accuracy portion of the study.


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  		TABLE 1 Subjects’ physical characteristics1

 
Reliability
Subjects’ mean %BF values obtained from T1D1, T1D2, and T2D2 were 17.78 ± 6.08, 17.28 ± 6.15, and 17.44 ± 5.91%BF, respectively (Table 2Go). The mean difference in %BF between days (-0.50 ± 1.21, P = 0.08) and within days (0.16 ± 1.44, P = 0.51) did not differ significantly from zero. Linear regression and Bland-Altman analyses (Figure 1Go) of %BF estimates obtained on different days and within the same day indicated good agreement. The regression lines (Figure 1, A and CGo) did not differ significantly from the line of identity (Y = X), and the regression equations indicated a relatively low SEE (1.22 and 1.41 for between- and within-day tests, respectively) and a very high R2 (0.96 and 0.94 for between- and within-day tests, respectively). Between- and within-day differences in %BF for individual subjects were within narrow ranges [95% CI (Figure 1, B and DGo): -2.9, 1.9%BF and -2.7, 3.1%BF for between- and within-day tests, respectively], and the individual differences were not a function of body fatness [r = 0.06, P = 0.74 for between-day tests (Figure 1, BGo); r = -0.17, P = 0.33 for within-day tests (Figure 1, DGo)]. The mean within-subject SDs and CVs for %BF estimates were 0.69 ± 0.60%BF and 4.94 ± 0.62%, respectively, for between-day tests and 0.72 ± 0.72%BF and 5.10 ± 0.65%, respectively, for within-day tests. There were no significant differences in within-subject SDs among the 3 body mass groups (2–4, 4–6, and 6–8 kg)—between-day: 0.89 ± 0.72, 0.63 ± 0.50, and 0.50 ± 0.49%BF (P = 0.28); within-day: 0.82 ± 0.87, 0.74 ± 0.80, and 0.58 ± 0.30%BF (P = 0.70), respectively. The corresponding within-subject CVs for the 2–4, 4–6, and 6–8 kg groups were 8.2 ± 7.5%, 4.0 ± 2.3%, and 3.6 ± 2.9%, respectively (P = 0.09), for between-day tests and 8.3 ± 9.5%, 3.2 ± 3.3%, and 2.9 ± 1.5%, respectively (P = 0.08), for within-day tests.


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  		TABLE 2 Percentage body fat (%BF) estimates determined by using air-displacement plethysmography (ADP) and deuterium dilution1

 


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  		FIGURE 1. A and C: Linear regressions of percentage body fat (%BF) results from air-displacement plethysmography (ADP) for between-day tests [test 1, day 1 (T1D1) compared with test 1, day 2 (T1D2)] and within-day tests [T1D2 compared with test 2, day 2 (T2D2)]. The linear regression equations for between- and within-day tests are %BFT1D2 = 0.992 x %BFT1D1 - 0.357 (R2 = 0.961, SEE = 1.22, P < 0.001) and %BFT2D2 = 0.934 x %BFT1D2 + 1.300 (R2 = 0.943, SEE = 1.41, P < 0.001), respectively. B and D: Corresponding Bland-Altman plots for between- and within-day tests, respectively. The solid lines represent mean differences between tests (bias), and the dotted lines represent 2 SDs from the mean differences (95% limits of agreement).

 
The proportions of ADP measurements completed in each behavioral state were as follows: sleep, 0.6%; drowsy, 0.9%; quiet and alert, 30.3%; awake and active, 45.4%; crying intensely, 22.8%; urination, 10.1%; and defecation, 2.9%. As shown in Table 3Go, there were no significant differences in %BF among the 3 main categories of behavioral state (P = 0.59, 0.10, and 0.10 for comparisons of quiet and alert with awake and active, awake and active with crying, and quiet and alert with crying, respectively). Urination during the measurement did not significantly influence the ADP %BF estimates (P = 0.69). In addition, %BF estimates by ADP did not differ significantly between white and Asian infants after we controlled for age, sex, and body weight. Furthermore, the between- and within-day SDs and CVs did not differ significantly between the white and the Asian infants, which indicated that the reliability of the ADP system was not influenced by race.


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  		TABLE 3 Percentage body fat (%BF) measured by using air-displacement plethysmography (ADP) according to infant behavioral state and urination during measurement

 
Accuracy
Mean %BF values determined by ADP and by 2H2O dilution were 20.32 ± 6.87 and 20.39 ± 6.68%BF, respectively (Table 2Go). The mean difference (-0.07 ± 3.39%BF) did not differ significantly from zero (P = 0.89). Linear regression analysis (Figure 2Go, left) showed that %BF determined by ADP explained 76% of the variance in 2H2O-derived %BF, and the SEE of 3.26 was considered good according to Lohman’s criteria (24). The 95% limits of agreement from Bland-Altman analysis (Figure 2Go) were -6.84%BF, 6.71%BF. There was no trend in individual differences in %BF between the 2 methods as %BF varied (r = 0.06, P = 0.68). Moreover, the differences in %BF between the 2 methods were not significantly related to body mass (r = 0.04, P = 0.80). The proportion of ADP measurements completed in each behavioral state was as follows: sleep, 0.4%; drowsy, 3.7%; quiet and alert, 32.7%; awake and active, 40.5%; crying intensely, 22.8%; urination, 9.8%; and defecation, 2.1%.



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  		FIGURE 2. Left: Linear regression of percentage body fat (%BF) results obtained with deuterium (2H2O) dilution compared with those obtained with air-displacement plethysmography (ADP). The linear regression equation is %BF(2H2O) = 0.851 x %BF(ADP) + 3.094 (R2 = 0.76, SEE = 3.26, P < 0.001). The 3 open circles represent 3 excluded extreme outliers for the 2H2O dilution values. The dotted line is Y = X. Right: The corresponding Bland-Altman plot. The solid line represents the mean difference between methods (bias), and the dotted lines represent 2 SDs from the mean difference (95% limits of agreement).

 
Mean %BF values obtained from ADP (20.32 ± 6.87%BF) and expected %BF values (18.48 ± 7.93%BF) compared favorably; the latter values, based on the subjects’ age and sex, were calculated by using data from a multicompartmental study in infants conducted by Butte et al (7).


   DISCUSSION
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 SUBJECTS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
This study represents the first comprehensive comparison of the reliability and accuracy of the ADP system and of 2H2O dilution in an infant population whose age (0.4–24.4 wk), body mass (2.7–7.4 kg), and %BF (5.8–36.7%BF) represent the expected range for infants between birth and 6 mo of age, for whom the ADP system is designed.

Reliability
The ADP system was found to be a reliable instrument for determining %BF in infants. The mean between-day and within-day SDs for %BF estimates were 0.69%BF and 0.72%BF, respectively, which correspond to mean CVs of 4.9% and 5.1%, respectively. These CVs are comparable with those obtained by using DXA (3.4–7.7%; 25, 26) and total-body electrical conductivity (1.2–4.4%; 27–29), the 2 techniques that have been validated and are commonly used in infant populations (29–31).

In addition, the ADP system showed narrow ranges of between-day (-2.9 to 1.9) and within-day (-2.7 to 3.1) individual variations in %BF estimates in subjects spanning a wide range with respect to age, body mass, and overall %BF. These findings indicate that the ADP system has the potential to be used in comparative and longitudinal studies and in clinical settings where changes in body composition between groups or over time should be assessed periodically and monitored closely.

Furthermore, the ADP %BF estimates were not significantly affected by infants’ behavioral states, including quiet and alert, awake and active, crying intensely, and urination. This suggests that, in a population in which compliance with a test protocol cannot be expected, the ADP system can provide consistent %BF estimates under a wide range of conditions.

Accuracy
Results of this study indicate that the %BF estimates obtained by using ADP and by using 2H2O dilution had excellent agreement—indeed, the means were virtually identical—and the regression equation of %BF by 2H2O against %BF by ADP gave high R2 and low SEE values. These results are consistent with the recent findings of Sainz and Urlando (19), who conducted a study to evaluate the performance of the ADP system by using bovine tissue phantoms in which the range in mass (1.39–9.95 kg) and percentage fat (2.08–34.40%) was similar to that expected in infants 0–6 mo of age. In that study, the ADP system provided a highly accurate estimate of percentage fat (R2 = 0.997, SEE = 0.60) compared with chemical analysis of percentage fat.

In the present study, individual variations in agreement between %BF estimates determined by ADP and by 2H2O dilution (95% limits of agreement: -6.84, 6.71%BF) were smaller than those from a previous study in which body-composition methods underwent pairwise comparison (32). In a comparison of 2H2O and total-body electrical conductivity, the 95% limits of agreement for %BF in infants aged 0.5, 3, and 6 mo were -15.4, 10.5; -4.4, 13.7; and -7.7, 10.3%, respectively; in a comparison of 2H2O and DXA, the 95% limits of agreement for %BF in infants aged 0.5 mo were -24.3, 4.8%BF (32). Results from this study are also comparable with those from studies of adults and children that compared the BOD POD Body Composition Tracking System with hydrostatic weighing (95% limits of agreement from various studies ranged from -4.0, 3.4 to -11.0, 5.4) and with DXA (95% limits of agreement ranged from -2.6, 7.8 to -11.9, 4.1; reviewed in 11).

Individual differences between %BF obtained by using ADP and that obtained by using 2H2O dilution may be attributable to biological sources of error. For example, biological variations in FFM hydration (used to calculate %BF from total-body water values obtained by 2H2O dilution) and FFM density (used to calculate %BF from body mass and volume values measured by ADP) could have affected 2H2O dilution and ADP results. Some individual differences might also be the result of factors affecting the 2H2O dilution space during the 2-h postdose period, such as insensible water losses (eg, crying and sweating), changes in dilution space resulting from water intake (eg, breastfeeding or bottle-feeding), and the high water turnover rate in infants (33, 34). Technical errors in isotope analysis were considered small because of the high measurement precision of the mass spectrometer used in this study.

There was no systematic difference in agreement between ADP and 2H2O dilution results across a wide range of body mass and fatness. This represents a significant improvement over DXA. When DXA was used to assess body composition in animal models in the pediatric ranges of body mass and fatness, several studies found that the magnitude of bias in estimates of body fatness (in grams or percentage of weight) was related to body size, fat content, or both (35–39). The scanning program and software solutions used for scan analysis can also influence the results (35–37). In several studies, calibration of DXA to the laboratory standard of carcass analysis (ie, using conversion formulas or correction factors for DXA) was applied to improve the accuracy of DXA measurements (36, 39–41), but this is not an option for most clinicians.

The ADP system has several advantages over 2H2O dilution. Although isotope dilution is considered one of the most reliable and accurate methods for estimating body composition in early infancy (30), it is not practical from a research or clinical perspective because of the difficulties in using it in infants (eg, administering the proper dose and collecting adequate plasma or urine samples) and because it is time-consuming and expensive and requires considerable expertise in sample analysis. In contrast, a complete ADP test can usually be completed within 10 min. The test procedure is noninvasive, it does not require the subjects to be sedated, and the test environment (eg, temperature maintained constant between 31 and 37 °C and constant air circulation in the test chamber) is comfortable for the infants.

In summary, ADP is a reliable and accurate method of measuring %BF in healthy full-term infants, and it has the potential for use in the infant population in both research and clinical settings. Future studies are needed to determine the biological and technical sources of individual variations between ADP and other reference methods and to further evaluate longitudinal changes in %BF in infants.


   ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 
We are grateful to C Chaparro, B Lu, and X Mu for technical assistance with data collection and to the subjects and their parents for participating in the study. WA Coward from the MRC Human Nutrition Center (Cambridge, United Kingdom) and JC Wells from the Institute of Child Health (London) provided expert advice regarding the use of deuterium dilution techniques in the determination of infant body composition. Coordination of specific training in the use of deuterium dilution techniques and sponsorship of expert consultants (WA Coward and JC Wells) were provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency (Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, Division of Human Health, Section of Nutritional and Health-Related Environmental Studies), Vienna.

GM, MY, YL, LN-R, and KGD were responsible for the study design, data analysis, and writing of the manuscript. MY, AL, and HZ were responsible for data collection in China, and LN-R was responsible for data collection in California. AU helped with technical issues related to the PEA POD system and with the portions of the manuscript describing the PEA POD. WWW provided expert advice regarding the use of deuterium dilution techniques and was responsible for analyzing the blood samples. All authors approved the manuscript. GM, YL, AL, HZ, WWW, LN-R, and KGD have no affiliations with the institution sponsoring this study. MY and AU are employees of Life Measurement, Inc.


   REFERENCES
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 SUBJECTS AND METHODS
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
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Received for publication May 15, 2003. Accepted for publication September 2, 2003.




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