Objective: To assess whether bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) can be used to evaluate the degree of hepatic steatosis in potential living liver donors.
Material and methods: From May 2008 to April 2009, BIA was measured in 302 living donor candidates. Correlations among body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared), total fatty changes at percutaneous needle liver biopsy, and BIA-derived fat composition were assessed.
Results: The median (range) BIA-derived fat proportion was 19.4% (4.8%-35.3%), BMI was 24 (17-39), and hepatic steatosis at liver biopsy was 2% (0%-75%). Crude correlations were observed between BIA-derived fat proportion and hepatic steatosis (r(2) = 0.14; P = .000), between BMI and hepatic steatosis (r(2) = 0.27; P = .000), and between BMI and BIA-derived fat proportion (r(2) = .25; P = .000). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that the area under the curve of BIA-derived fat proportion was smaller than that of BMI, and no significant cutoff value was identified.
Conclusions: These results suggest that BIA-derived fat composition alone cannot be used to accurately determine the degree of hepatic steatosis. However, a combination of BMI and BIA-derived fat composition may increase clinical ability to assess hepatic steatosis.