Assessment of body composition in gastrointestinal conditions
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessment of body composition using bioelectrical impedance analysis and radiological measurement of muscle mass in patients with chronic gastrointestinal conditions.
IRAS ID
258547
Contact name
Shameer Mehta
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2019/08/33, UCL Data protection Reference Number
Duration of Study in the UK
6 years, 11 months, 28 days
Research summary
Many patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are malnourished. This is because IBD leads to the incorrect functioning of the gut or because the associated unpleasant symptoms mean patients are unable to eat and drink normally. In addition, further symptoms and malnutrition can be caused by the treatments for these conditions. Malnutrition is known to make it harder for patients to recover from chronic diseases. Two methods of assessing nutritional status are the use of CT scans already performed to measure the amount of muscle within the body and using a painless electrode attached to the skin to measure the make-up of the body e.g. fat, muscle, water etc. These tools are more accurate in measuring body composition than other than other markers such as body mass index (BMI) but are not routinely used in practice. We propose using these techniques to accurately measure nutritional status together with standard techniques already in use in patients starting certain drug treatments for IBD. We believe this comprehensive assessment will provide valuable information regarding the effect of malnutrition on disease outcomes and the effect of disease on nutritional state, together with the impact of malnutrition on the effectiveness of various treatments and whether treatments impact on nutritional state. This may help to identify patients who will benefit from specific nutritional therapy as part of their overall treatment, more accurately than current practice. This may also help to identify whether early changes in body composition relate to how well treatments work in the longer term to understand which patients would benefit from an early change in treatment.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/YH/0107
Date of REC Opinion
5 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion