Background: Few studies have examined the metabolic consequences of short bowel syndrome (SBS) and its effects on body composition in adults. We hypothesized that body composition of SBS patients is altered compared to a normal age, race, and sex-matched population, regardless of parenteral nutrition (PN) dependence.
Aim:To compare the body composition of adult patients with SBS to age, sex and race matched healthy controls.Methods: Twenty patients with SBS underwent body composition analysis using the GE Lunar iDXA scanner. Patients were age, sex and race matched to controls from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004). Mean differences in body mass index, fat free mass, fat mass, percent body fat, visceral adipose tissue mass and volume, and bone mineral density were measured. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS 9.4 software.Results: Fifty-five percent of subjects had a history of PN use and 30% were current PN users. Mean percent body fat for SBS patients was 35.1% compared to 30.9% for healthy controls (p=0.043). Fat free mass was reduced in SBS (p=0.007). Patients with reduced bone mass had a Terms of use and reuse: academic research for non-commercial purposes, see here for full terms. https://www.springer.com/aamterms-v1