Objective: To develop bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) equations to predict total body water (TBW) and fat-free mass (FFM) of Sri Lankan children. Subjects/Methods: Data were collected from 5-to 15-year-old healthy children. They were randomly assigned to validation (M/F: 105/83) and cross-validation (M/F: 53/41) groups. Height, weight and BIA were measured. TBW was assessed using isotope dilution method (D 2 O). Multiple regression analysis was used to develop preliminary equations and cross-validated on an independent group. Final prediction equation was constructed combining the two groups and validated by PRESS (prediction of sum of squares) statistics. Impedance index (height 2 /impedance; cm 2 /O), weight and sex code (male ¼ 1; female ¼ 0) were used as variables. Results: Independent variables of the final prediction equation for TBW were able to predict 86.3% of variance with root meanssquared error (RMSE) of 2.1 l. PRESS statistics was 2.1 l with press residuals of 1.2 l. Independent variables were able to predict 86.9% of variance of FFM with RMSE of 2.7 kg. PRESS statistics was 2.8 kg with press residuals of 1.4 kg. Bland Altman technique showed that the majority of the residuals were within mean bias71.96 s.d. Conclusions: Results of this study provide BIA equation for the prediction of TBW and FFM in Sri Lankan children. To the best of our knowledge there are no published BIA prediction equations validated on South Asian populations. Results of this study need to be affirmed by more studies on other closely related populations by using multi-component body composition assessment.
Objective The aim of the study was to determine the reliability of body mass index based (BMI) cutoff values in diagnosing obesity among Sri Lankan children. Methods Height, weight, waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) in 282 children were measured. Total body water was determined by deuterium dilution and fat mass (FM) derived using age and gender specific constants. A percentage FM of 30% for girls and 25% for boys were considered as cutoff levels for obesity. Results Two hundred and eighty two children (M/F: 158/124) were studied and 99 (80%) girls and 72 (45.5%)
This chart analysis clearly confirms that Sri Lankan children have a high %FM from a young age. With age, more changes occur in FM than in fat free mass (FFM). Although the newly defined BMI and WC cut-off values appear to be quite low, they are comparable to some recent data obtained in similar populations.
Objectives
Our aim was to describe the numbers and distribution of patients with different types of thalassemia and to assess the standards of care in all thalassemia treatment centers throughout Sri Lanka and the success of the ongoing prevention programme.
Methods
This cross-sectional island-wide survey was conducted by two trained medical graduates, who visited each thalassemia center to collect data from every patient, using a standardized form. Data was collected through review of patient registers and clinical records.
Results
We collected data on 1774 patients from 23 centers. 1219 patients (68.7%) had homozygous β-thalassemia, 360 patients (20.3%) had hemoglobin E β-thalassemia, and 50 patients (2%) had sickle β-thalassemia. There were unacceptably high serum ferritin levels in almost all centers. The annual number of births of patients with β-thalassaemia varied between 45–55, with little evidence of reduction over 19 years.
Conclusions
Central coordination of the treatment and ultimately prevention of thalassemia is urgently needed in Sri Lanka. Development of expert centers with designated staff with sufficient resources will improve the quality of care and is preferred to managing patients in multiple small units.
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