Article

AIM: To assess the diagnostic performance of body mass index (BMI) cut-off values
according to recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), the World
Obesity Federation (WOF), and the German Society for Adiposity (DAG) to identify
excess body fat in children with cerebral palsy (CP).
METHOD: The present study
was a monocentric retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data among
children and adolescents with CP participating in a rehabilitation programme.
Excess body fat was defined as a body fat percentage above the 85th centile
assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: In total, 329 children
(181 males, 148 females) with CP were eligible for analysis. The mean age was 12
years 4 months (standard deviation 2y 9mo). The BMI cut-off values for
'overweight' according to the WHO, WOF, and DAG showed the following
sensitivities and specificities for the prediction of excess body fat in our
population: WHO: sensitivity 0.768 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.636-0.870),
specificity 0.894 (95% CI 0.851-0.928); WOF: sensitivity 0.696 (95% CI
0.559-0.812), specificity 0.934 (95% CI 0.898-0.960); DAG: sensitivity 0.411 (95%
CI 0.281-0.550), specificity 0.993 (95% CI 0.974-0.999). INTERPRETATION: Body
mass index showed high specificity, but low sensitivity in children with CP.
Thus, 'normal-weight obese' children with CP were overlooked, when assessing
excess body fat only using BMI. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: Excess body fat in children
with cerebral palsy (CP) is less common than previously reported. Body mass index
(BMI) had high specificity but low sensitivity in detecting excess body fat in
children with CP. BMI evaluation criteria of the German Society for Adiposity
could be improved in children with CP.
CI - (c) 2018 Mac Keith Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS