Does Body Fat Importantly Influence Skin Tissue Dielectric Constant (TDC) Values?

Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Florida, USA

Does Body Fat Importantly Influence Skin Tissue Dielectric Constant (TDC) Values? Jessica Forbes OMS III, Adithi Vemuri OMS II, Katelyn Krolick OMS II, Samantha Rubin OMS II, Harvey Mayrovitz, PhD. Dr. KP College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Medical Sciences Objectives. To determine if body fat (TBF) and water (TBW) percentages impact TDC values in women who are overweight or obese. Background: TDC values are useful to assess lymphedema but the impact of excessive fat with its low dielectric constant is unknown. We hypothesized that greater BMI values would be associated with reduced TDC values especially in overweight and obese women (> 30 kg/m2). Methods: Women (N=32, age 40.0±11.6 years and BMI of 31.8±6.7 Kg/m2 (23.0-49.9 Kg/m2) participated. TBF, TBW, intracellular (ICW) and extracellular water (ECW) percentages were determined at 5, 50, 250 and 500 kHz. TDC was measured bilaterally at forearm, biceps, neck and face to 0.5, 1.5- and 2.5-mm depths. For analysis, subjects were divided into groups; BMI<30Kg/m2 (sub-group A, n=16) vs. ≥30Kg/m2 (sub-group B, n=16). Tests for statistical differences between sub-groups were based on the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test with a p-value < 0.01 accepted as statistically significant. Results: TDC at forearm and biceps decreased significantly (p Conclusions: Results provide reference TDC values for obese persons and show that in overweight and obese persons TDC values are not confounded by variables such as TBW and TBF. Further, inter-side ratios and their SD’s yielded thresholds for forearm and biceps similar to those established for women with normal BMI and extends their use to this group.