Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 5;23(1):96.
doi: 10.1186/s12882-022-02709-7.

The association between skinfold thicknesses and estimated glomerular filtration rate in adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Yongchang Yang  1 , Yubin Wu  2
Affiliations

The association between skinfold thicknesses and estimated glomerular filtration rate in adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Yongchang Yang et al. BMC Nephrol. .

Abstract

Background: Obesity is one of the causes of glomerular hyperfiltration. Studies on the relationship between body fat content and glomerular hyperfiltration have been limited to special children. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the correlation between skinfold thickness, which represents body fat content, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

Methods: The cross-sectional study included 6655 participants (3532 boys and 3123 girls; age: 12 - 17.99 years); data was obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; 2001-2010). The independent variables were subscapular skinfold thickness and triceps skinfold thickness. The dependent variable was eGFR. We used multivariate linear regression models to evaluate their associations and also performed subgroup analyses.

Results: After adjusting for age, standing height, race, family income, blood urea nitrogen and uric acid variables, multivariate regression analysis identified that triceps skinfold thickness and subscapular skinfold thickness were positively correlated with eGFR and glomerular hyperfiltration in boys. In subgroup analyses stratified by age and body mass index, triceps skinfold thickness was also associated with glomerular hyperfiltration in boys. There was a linear relationship between triceps skinfold thickness and eGFR in boys (β = 0.389, P < 0.001) and girls (β = 0.159, P = 0.0003).

Conclusions: Triceps skinfold thickness and subscapular skinfold thickness are positively correlated with eGFR and glomerular hyperfiltration in US male adolescents. In all adolescents, there is a linear relationship between triceps skinfold thickness and eGFR.

Keywords: Cross-sectional study; Estimated glomerular filtration rate; NHANES; Subscapular skinfold thickness; Triceps skinfold thickness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Fitting smooth curve between skinfold and eGFR. a The association between TSFT and eGFR in adolescent. b The association between SSFT and eGFR in adolescent. Each point or circle represents a sample. Age, race/ethnicity, standing height, annual family income, blood urea nitrogen and uric acid were adjusted. Abbreviations: TSFT, triceps skinfold thickness; SSFT, subscapular skinfold thickness
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. D'Agati VD, Chagnac A, de Vries AP, Levi M, Porrini E, Herman-Edelstein M, Praga M. Obesity-related glomerulopathy: clinical and pathologic characteristics and pathogenesis. Nat Rev Nephrol. 2016;12(8):453–471. doi: 10.1038/nrneph.2016.75. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Adelman RD, Restaino IG, Alon US, Blowey DL. Proteinuria and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis in severely obese adolescents. J Pediatr. 2001;138(4):481–485. doi: 10.1067/mpd.2001.113006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Helal I, Fick-Brosnahan GM, Reed-Gitomer B, Schrier RW. Glomerular hyperfiltration: definitions, mechanisms and clinical implications. Nat Rev Nephrol. 2012;8(5):293–300. doi: 10.1038/nrneph.2012.19. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Iduoriyekemwen NJ, Ibadin MO, Aikhionbare HA, Idogun SE, Abiodun MT. Glomerular hyperfiltration in excess weight adolescents. Niger J Clin Pract. 2019;22(6):842–848. doi: 10.4103/njcp.njcp_123_18. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Turer CB, Baum M, Dubourg L, Selistre LS, Skinner AC. Prevalence of hyperfiltration among US youth/young adults with overweight and obesity: A population-based association study. Obes Sci Pract. 2019;5(6):570–580. doi: 10.1002/osp4.365. - DOI - PMC - PubMed