ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Skeletal Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1612735
The association between aggregate index of systemic inflammation and DXA-measured body composition parameters in adolescents
Provisionally accepted
- The First people's Hospital of Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, China
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Background: Systemic inflammation during adolescence may critically influence metabolic and musculoskeletal health, yet comprehensive biomarkers predicting adverse body composition remain underexplored. The aggregate index of systemic inflammation (AISI), integrating neutrophils, platelets, monocytes, and lymphocytes, offers a novel metric to assess this relationship.Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed 3,661 adolescents (aged 12–19 years) from NHANES 2011–2018. AISI was calculated from complete blood counts, and body composition parameters—appendicular lean mass index (ALMI), visceral adipose tissue area (VATA), and total bone mineral density (BMD)—were measured via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Multivariable linear regression and threshold effect models evaluated associations, adjusting for demographic, metabolic, and lifestyle covariates.Results: Higher logAISI was associated with lower ALMI (β = −0.189, 95% CI: −0.262 to −0.116), greater VATA (β = 3.017, 1.266 to 4.769), and reduced BMD (β = −0.017, −0.027 to −0.007). A threshold effect emerged at logAISI = 2.2, beyond which inflammation’s impact on VATA and BMD intensified. Conclusions: Elevated AISI correlates with adverse body composition in adolescents. The identified threshold suggests a potential clinical benchmark for early intervention. These findings underscore systemic inflammation as a modifiable target to mitigate metabolic and musculoskeletal risks during this critical developmental period.
Keywords: systemic inflammation, adolescents, Body Composition, muscle mass, visceral adiposity, Bone Density
Received: 16 Apr 2025; Accepted: 28 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Tao and Zhu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhongxin Zhu, The First people's Hospital of Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou, China
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