Anthropometry, nutritional status, and dietary intake in pediatric patients with osteogenesis imperfecta.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to assess anthropometric measurements, nutritional status, dietary intake, and body fat percentage of pediatric patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI).

METHOD

A cross-sectional study evaluated 63 OI patients from 0 to 19 years of age. We analyzed anthropometric measurements, mobility, bisphosphonate treatment, body fat percentage (by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry [DEXA] and sum of skinfold thickness), nutritional status, and dietary intake (using World Health Organization [WHO] and dietary reference intake recommendations for macronutrients and calcium intake, respectively). Participants' energy requirements were calculated using both kilocalorie per centimeter measurements and WHO methods.

RESULTS

Patients with different types of OI had different anthropometric measurements (p < 0.05), where OI type III had severely limited stature and poor mobility. Nutritional status was correlated with measurements of arm circumference and body fat. We also found a strong correlation between the 2 methods used to calculate percentage of body fat (r = 0.803). OI type III had a higher percentage of energy intake. We observed that 75% of subjects had a calcium intake below 95% of recommended daily value and there was an inverse correlation between age and calcium intake.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that stature was compromised mainly in OI type III. Skinfold thickness and arm circumference correlated to nutritional status and also to body fat calculated by DEXA. Daily calcium intake was below the recommended levels in pediatric patients with OI. These findings are important for the management of OI subjects.