PD948 - AGREEMENT BETWEEN ANTHROPLUS SOFTWARE AND BIOELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE IN THE ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN

PD948

AGREEMENT BETWEEN ANTHROPLUS SOFTWARE AND BIOELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE IN THE ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS IN HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN

A. P. Mirabal Mañon^1,2, R. Estevez¹, B. Feliz Pimentel¹, A. K. De la Rosa Paulino¹, J. J. BELTRE RODRIGUEZ^2,*, Y. Z. Kim²

¹Nutricion, Hospital Pediatrico Dr. Hugo Mendza, ²Salud, Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Rationale: Nutritional status assessment in hospitalized children is essential for early detection of alterations associated with increased morbidity. Body mass index (BMI) is commonly used to assess nutritional status; however, it does not adequately reflect body composition, potentially leading to misclassification of adiposity and lean mass. Evidence on the clinical agreement between these methods in pediatric hospital settings remains limited.

Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from August to October 2025 in 83 hospitalized children aged 5–18 years. Nutritional status was assessed using anthropometry (AnthroPlus) and BIA (®BodyStat Multiscan 5000). Agreement was evaluated using Cohen’s Kappa, weighted Kappa, and relative differences for z score of body mass index (BMI)/age, body fat percentage, and lean mass.

Results: A high prevalence of altered body composition was observed across all BMI categories. Regarding fat mass, elevated levels were present in 85.7% of the malnutrition group, 54.5% of eutrophic patients, and 90.0% and 72.7% of overweight and obese individuals, respectively. Low lean mass was highly prevalent, affecting 85.7% of malnourished patients, 54.5% of eutrophic individuals, and 90.0% and 72.7% of those with overweight and obesity. However, no statistically significant differences were observed between BMI categories (chi-square test, p = 0.238).

Conclusion: AnthroPlus and BIA show no significant clinical agreement and should not be used interchangeably in hospitalized children. BMI alone is insufficient to accurately characterize nutritional status, as significant alterations in body composition are prevalent across all categories. These findings highlight the need for comprehensive body composition assessment to improve clinical evaluation and guide nutritional interventions.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared