Peer-reviewed article
A scoping review of infant body composition (0-24 months) assessed by deuterium dilution.
Nouhayla Bouali, Anass Houdou, Chaymae El Abbass, Amina Barkat, Mohamed Khalis ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This scoping review examined 24 studies from around the world that measured infant body composition (fat and muscle) in children aged 0-24 months using a technique called deuterium dilution. The review found that while the technique can be used across different resource settings, studies used very different methods and measurements, making it impossible to compare results across studies. Major gaps exist in research on premature infants, growth-restricted infants, and the role of breastfeeding in body composition.
Key points
- 24 studies from 18-20 cohorts across six continents were included in the review
- Substantial methodological heterogeneity exists across studies in dose, equilibration time, analytical platforms, and correction factors
- Only one study included preterm infants, and only three studies documented small for gestational age or growth restriction status
- Incomplete breastfeeding documentation across studies is a key evidence gap
- Standardised protocol reporting and longitudinal designs linking early body composition to later health outcomes are research priorities
Limitations
This is a methodological scoping review that maps the literature rather than evaluating an intervention or synthesising findings about child outcomes. It cannot tell us what the actual patterns of infant body composition are or how body composition relates to later child health and development.
Abstract
CONTEXT: The deuterium dilution technique is applicable across the 0-24 month age range in diverse resource settings. No structured review has previously mapped the scope of its use in this population. OBJECTIVE: This scoping review was limited to mapping infant body composition studies (0-24 months) using deuterium dilution, describing methodological approaches, identifying contexts of applications, and highlighting evidence gaps. METHODS: A structured literature search was conducted across four databases with citation tracking, following prisma-ScR guidelines. RESULTS: Twenty-four studies from approximately 18-20 distinct cohorts across six continents were included from 1,078 identified records. Substantial heterogeneity was documented in every protocol element: dose, equilibration time, analytical platform, correction factor for non-aqueous exchange (unreported in approximately one-third of studies), and hydration model. This heterogeneity prevents direct comparison of fat mass and fat-free mass values across studies, precluding meta-analytic synthesis. Key gaps include the near-absence of data in preterm infants (one study), small for gestational age (SGA) or intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) classification in only three of 24 studies, and incomplete breastfeeding documentation. CONCLUSION: This review maps a growing but methodologically heterogeneous literature. Standardised protocol reporting, dedicated preterm and SGA studies, and longitudinal designs linking early body composition to later outcomes are research priorities.