Body composition parameters in systemic sclerosis—a systematic review and meta-analysis
Mislav Radić, Ela Kolak, Hana Đogaš, Andrea Gelemanović, Dora Bučan Nenadić, Marijana Vučković, Josipa Radić- Pharmacology (medical)
- Rheumatology
Abstract
Background
The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarize current evidence regarding body composition (BC) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) in order to gain new insights and improve clinical care in the context of the nutritional status of SSc patients.
Methods
Search engines for databases Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane Library were searched on 4th of January 2023. Studies were included if they provided data regarding BC obtained by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) or bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in patients with SSc and healthy controls (HC). The study design criteria for inclusion were cohort and observational studies. The risk of bias assessment was performed using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. For meta-analysis, mean difference with a 95% confidence interval was obtained and all results were depicted as forest plots.
Results
The number of retrieved publications was 593, of which 9 were included in a random-effects meta-analysis totalling 489 SSc patients and 404 HC. Overall, significantly lower body mass index, lean mass (LM), fat mass (FM) and phase angle values were found in SSc patients when compared with HC. Furthermore, FM and LM were significantly lower in SSc patients when DXA method applied, whereas the same parameters were comparable between two groups of participants when BIA was applied.
Conclusion
Altered BC is characteristic of SSc patients indicating the need for regular nutritional status assessment in order to improve the quality of life and clinical care of patients with SSc.