Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Demonstrates Reliable Agreement with Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry in Identifying Reduced Skeletal Muscle Mass in Patients with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease and Hypertension

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Body composition (BC) affects the risk of developing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and hypertension (HTN). Currently, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is considered the gold standard for assessing BC, even though it has some limitations, including immobility, ionizing radiation, and patient weight restrictions. The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlations of BC parameters measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) with those measured by DEXA in patients with MASLD and HTN. Methods: Overall, 78 patients with MASLD and HTN underwent the following study procedures: compilation of an anamnesis, physical examination of a patient, laboratory tests, abdominal ultrasound, BIA, DEXA, and anthropometric measurements. Results: The agreement between BIA and DEXA in diagnosing reduced skeletal muscle mass (SMM) in patients with MASLD and HTN was moderate (kappa values were 0.440 and 0.404 in males and females, respectively). Significant strong direct correlations were found between fat mass (FM) and body fat percentage measured by BIA with corresponding measurements by DEXA (p < 0.001 for both). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) of SMM to body weight ratios calculated using BIA data were 0.834 and 0.929 for reduced appendicular SMM determined by DEXA in males and females with MASLD and HTN, respectively. Conclusions: In conclusion, BIA is an easy-to-use and widely available tool for assessing SMM and FM in patients with MASLD and HTN, demonstrating reliable agreement with DEXA measurement results and completely free of its limitations.

Keywords: body composition; fat mass; hypertension; metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease; skeletal muscle mass.

Figure 1

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for SMM/W ratio to exclude decreased ASMM/W index values measured by DEXA in female patients with MASLD and HTN. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) ± standard errors (SE) for SMM/W ratio was 0.834 ± 0.061; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.715–0.954.

Figure 2

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for SMM/W ratio to confirm the presence of decreased ASMM/W index values measured by DEXA in male patients with MASLD and HTN. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) ± standard errors (SE) for SMM/W ratio was 0.929 ± 0.032; 95% CI: 0.865–0.992.