Body Composition in Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis: Correlation with Disease Severity and Duration

BACKGROUND: Results on body composition in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) have been heterogeneous and are lacking from Asia. Present study assessed body composition in CD/UC and correlated it with disease severity/duration. METHODS: Patients of CD/UC following between Dec 2014 and Dec 2015 who consented for bioimpedance analysis for body fat measurement were included. Lean mass and fat-free mass index (FFMI) were calculated with standard formulae. Visceral fat area (VFA), subcutaneous fat area (SCA), and visceral to subcutaneous fat ratio (VF/SC) were evaluated in CD patients on abdominal CT. In CD, disease severity was associated with nonsignificant decline in SCA and increase in VF/SC. CONCLUSIONS: CD patients have lower lean mass than UC. Body fat decreases with increasing disease severity and fat-free mass decreases with increasing disease duration in both UC/CD.