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Prediction of total body water in infants and children

Wells, JCK; Fewtrell, MS; Davies, PSW; Williams, JE; Coward, WA; Cole, TJ; (2005) Prediction of total body water in infants and children. ARCH DIS CHILD , 90 (9) 965 - 971. 10.1136/adc.2004.067538. Green open access

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Abstract

Background: In paediatric clinical practice treatment is often adjusted in relation to body size, for example the calculation of pharmacological and dialysis dosages. In addition to use of body weight, for some purposes total body water (TBW) and surface area are estimated from anthropometry using equations developed several decades previously. Whether such equations remain valid in contemporary populations is not known.Methods: Total body water was measured using deuterium dilution in 672 subjects (265 infants aged < 1 year; 407 children and adolescents aged 1-19 years) during the period 1990-2003. TBW was predicted (a) using published equations, and (b) directly from data on age, sex, weight, and height.Results: Previously published equations, based on data obtained before 1970, significantly overestimated TBW, with average biases ranging from 4% to 11%. For all equations, the overestimation of TBW was greatest in infancy. New equations were generated. The best equation, incorporating log weight, log height, age, and sex, had a standard error of the estimate of 7.8%.Conclusions: Secular trends in the nutritional status of infants and children are altering the relation between age or weight and TBW. Equations developed in previous decades significantly overestimate TBW in all age groups, especially infancy; however, the relation between TBW and weight may continue to change. This scenario is predicted to apply more generally to many aspects of paediatric clinical practice in which dosages are calculated on the basis of anthropometric data collected in previous decades.

Type: Article
Title: Prediction of total body water in infants and children
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1136/adc.2004.067538
Publisher version: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC17205...
Keywords: PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY, REFERENCE CURVES, BREAST-MILK, MASS INDEX, FAT, ADOLESCENTS, UK, ZARAGOZA, FATNESS, OBESITY
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Population, Policy and Practice Dept
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/15090
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