Approved Research

Distribution of fat-free mass and risk of mortality in general adult population and adults with comorbidities

Lay summary

Aging, and a variety of disease states, are associated with change in quality, quantity and distribution of fat-free mass. In this study, we would like to investigate if distribution of fat-free mass is associated with risk of mortality. We plan to complete the study in 3 years. The study results could potentially improve mortality risk prediction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, which would be highly informative with respect to setting of treatment target, choice of treatment plan, and surveillance.

New scope:

The key research question of this study is to investigate if distribution of body composition (i.e., fat mass and fat-free mass) assessed by various modalities (i.e. impedance, dual X-ray absorptiometry and MRI) improve mortality risk prediction of adults with comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, beyond current models, which incorporates anthropometric measurements such as BMI and waist-hip-ratio. We also sought to investigate the mechanism by which distribution of body composition affects mortality risk. We additionally aim to investigate genetic basis of lean mass and fat mass distribution assessed by dual X-ray absorptiometry.