Adolescent health briefPercentage Body Fat by Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry Is Associated With Menstrual Recovery in Adolescents With Anorexia Nervosa
Section snippets
Participants
Thirty-seven females, aged 13–27 years, diagnosed with AN by their outpatient medical providers and randomized to the placebo arm of a clinical trial completed the baseline visit; 29 completed the 18-month visit [6]. The Institutional Review Board at Boston Children's Hospital approved the study.
Study assessments
Study visits occurred at baseline, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months. Body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), serum estradiol (high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry,
Results
Few baseline differences existed between subjects with ROM (n = 24, 65%) and those without (n = 13; Table 1). Subjects were primarily Caucasian and older adolescents. Duration of both illness and secondary amenorrhea was similar between groups.
Relationships among BMI, estradiol level, percentage body fat, and percent median body weight (MBW) with ROM are shown in Figure 1. In longitudinal models, higher percentage body fat was associated with ROM (odds ratio [OR], 1.19; 95% confidence interval
Discussion
Weight, menstrual status, and mental health are important considerations when caring for patients with AN. Weight restoration remains a primary treatment aim.
Similar to what Golden et al. [1] demonstrated, weight gain coupled with estradiol ≥30 pg/mL was associated with ROM in the current sample. While estradiol ≥30 pg/mL alone was not significantly associated with ROM in this study, the relationship may have been seen with a larger sample. Our data also suggest that percentage body fat is
Acknowledgments
We thank the dedicated nursing and DXA staff of the Boston Children's Hospital Clinical and Translational Study Unit and our patients and their families.
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Cited by (24)
DXA in Children and Adolescents
2021, Journal of Clinical DensitometryPredicting Menstrual Recovery in Adolescents With Anorexia Nervosa Using Body Fat Percent Estimated by Bioimpedance Analysis
2019, Journal of Adolescent HealthCitation Excerpt :More recent studies used DXA, which is frequently considered as the practical gold standard for assessing TBF% [10,11]. In studies that associated body composition changes with ROM in adolescents with AN [20–22], a TBF% of 22.5%, 23.1%, and 22.2%, respectively, were determined as the best cut-off points for menstrual recovery. In a recent relatively large-scale study in adult women with AN, 50% regained their menses at a TBF% of 23% [23].
Long-term Skeletal Consequences of Anorexia Nervosa: A “Wake up Call”
2019, Journal of Adolescent HealthPubertal Progression in Female Adolescents with Progeria
2018, Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent GynecologyPhysical activity, body weight, and resumption of menses in anorexia nervosa
2016, Psychiatry Research
Dr. Amy Divasta and Dr. Catherine M. Gordon are co-senior authors.