WEDNESDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Children in remission from acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) often develop excess body fat, according to an article published in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Alexia J. Murphy of Royal Children's Hospital in Herston, Australia, and colleagues measured height, weight, body volume, total body water and bone mineral content in 24 children in remission from ALL, and 24 age-matched, healthy controls. One of the researchers' goals was to evaluate the effects of prednisolone and dexamethasone treatment on the body composition of patients.
Both the mean body mass index (19.7 versus 17.6 kg/m2) and fat mass index (6.2 versus 4.3 kg/m2) were significantly higher in the ALL survivors than in the control children. The composition of fat-free mass (FFM) showed that the children in remission from ALL had significantly greater hydration and lower FFM density than the control children.
"Children in remission from ALL may develop excess body fat," the authors write. "To measure body composition accurately in an ALL population, the high hydration and low density of FFM in this population should be taken into consideration."
Abstract
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