A comparative analysis of body water compartments for Egyptian patients with Schistosoma mansoni infection

In light of reports that schistosomiasis is associated with alterations in nutritional status, and considering that the assessment of body composition and water spaces is important for nutritional and hydration management, we conducted a study to evaluate the reproducibility of estimates of total body water, extracellular water, and intracellular water for Egyptians with Schistosoma mansoni infection using various bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) formulae in comparison with reference values obtained using dilution techniques. The estimates obtained using the various formulae varied from the reference values, representing either overestimates or underestimates. These differences were attributed to possible limitations inherent to the mathematical formulae, including the fact that they are population specific. These results stress the need to develop universal formulae for estimating body water compartments which would include race and pathology as independent parameters, in addition to BIA and anthropometric variables.