Intra-abdominal adiposity in preterm infants : an explorative study

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to compare the total body fat mass and the intra-abdominal adipose tissue between preterm infants assessed at term corrected age and full-term newborns. METHODS: An observational explorative study was conducted. 25 preterm and 10 full term infants were evaluated at 0-1 month of corrected and postnatal age, respectively. The total body fat mass was assessed by means of an air displacement plethysmography system (Pea Pod COSMED, USA) and the intra-abdominal adipose tissue by means of magnetic resonance imaging (software program SliceOMatic, Version 4.3,Tomovision, Canada). RESULTS: Total body fat mass (g) of preterm and term infants was 633 (+/- 183) and 538 (+/- 203) respectively while intra-abdominal fat mass (g) was 14.2 (+/- 4.9) and 19.9 (+/- 11.4). CONCLUSIONS: Preterm infants, although exhibiting a total body fat mass higher than full term infants, do not show an increased intra-abdominal adipose tissue.