Bioelectrical impedance analysis of the body composition of Nigerian children with sickle cell disease.

We used bioelectrical impedance (BIA) to investigate the body composition of children with sickle cell disease (SCD) in northern Nigeria. A total of 48 children with SCD and 51 controls between 3 and 20 years of age were studied. A significant difference was found in the weights of male subjects over the age of 10 years compared to controls (p = 0.01), but not in height. Significant differences were also observed for SCD males in the 10-18-year-old age range in body mass index (p = 0.001), fat free mass (p = 0.001), per cent fat free mass, (p = 0.02), body fat (p = 0.02), and per cent body fat (p = 0.02). No significant differences in any of these parameters between SCD subjects and controls were obtained for males under the age of 10 years. There were no significant differences in the height, weight, body mass index, or fat free mass for female SCD subjects compared to controls over the age range we studied. However, there were significant differences in the per cent fat free mass (p = 0.006), body fat (p = 0.025), and per cent body fat (p = 0.01) for female SCD subjects over the age of 10 years compared to controls. In addition to documenting differences in the body composition of adolescent boys with sickle cell disease in Nigeria, this study also demonstrated the feasibility of using bioelectrical impedance to analyse the body composition of individuals under the hot, arid conditions which prevail in sub-Saharan Africa.