BODPOD-IBD
Use of Air Displacement Plethysmography to Measure Body Composition to Assess Associations in Diseas
Study Design
This study is a prospective study with visits spanning one year. Each visit will include measurements of height, weight, body composition via BOD POD, FCP, CRP, questionnaires about disease activity and quality of life, as well as endoscopy, intestinal ultrasound, and radiology results, if available per standard of care. An additional visit will be conducted in case of a flare outside the timeframes of the regular visits and the same measurements will be collected.
Disease activity will be compared against visceral adipose tissue (VAT) as measured through the BOD POD and validated against radiology measurements of VAT if available. Any patient with a diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease who has flared within 30 days of the baseline will be eligible to participate in the study, allowing that they are willing and able to sign the consent and willing to have their body composition measurement with the BOD POD.
This is a pilot study with an aim of recruiting 30 patients and 15 healthy controls over a period of 12 months with 6 months of prospective follow-up and 24 months of retrospective analysis. After initial analysis, a more specific sample size can be calculated for validation.
Additionally, blood samples will be taken for cytokine analysis and RNA isolation to look at inflammatory markers in those with IBD as compared to healthy controls as well as differences in flaring and non-flaring timepoints per patient.
Healthy controls will participate in the demographics collection, blood sample analysis, and body composition analysis, as well as anything else per standard of care.
Aim
The aim of this study is to observe any associations between body composition, as measured through air displacement plethysmography, on disease activity in Inflammatory Bowel Disease as compared to other methods of measuring body composition. The study will additionally aim to show the benefits and feasibility of using apparatuses such as the BOD POD for regular clinical use and its advantages over traditional body composition measurements such as Body Mass Index (BMI), hand grip strength (HGS), and skinfold measurements using a calliper. Additionally, analysis will be done into potential inflammatory markers through processes such as flow cytometry and RNA isolation of blood samples.
Hypothesis
Body composition measurements taken through air displacement plethysmography will show a correlation to disease activity in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and thus can be used to monitor disease activity in a non-invasive manner in standard clinical care that is more accurate and precise than measuring Body Mass Index.
Publications
- Analysis of Body Fat Measurement in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Are We Missing the Mark with BMI? P. Girod, C. Coe, A. Fennessy, H. Dhaliwal, L. Harpur, Y. Hickey, J. Sheridan, G. Cullen, H. Mulcahy, C. Taylor, G. Doherty. Poster for the Irish Society of Gastroenterology Winter 2025 Conference.
- Submitted as a Master of Science Thesis at University College Dublin
- Analysis of Body Fat Measurement in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Are We Missing the Mark with BMI? P. Girod, C. Coe, A. Fennessy, H. Dhaliwal, L. Harpur, Y. Hickey, J. Sheridan, G. Cullen, H. Mulcahy, C. Taylor, G. Doherty. Poster for the European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation Conference 2026.
- Body Fat Percentage as Measured via Air Displacement More Accurately Portrays Muscle Loss Than BMI in Those With IBD and Healthy Controls. Girod, P; Coe, C; Fennessy, A; Hickey, Y; Sheridan, J; Cullen, G; Mulcahy H; Taylor, C; Doherty, G. Poster for the Irish Society of Gastroenterology Summer 2026 Conference.
