The Relationship between Body Composition and ECG Ventricular Activity in Young Adults

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the correlation between body composition (measured as weight, body mass index, and body fat percentage (BFP)) and electrocardiographic ventricular parameters (the QT and TQ intervals and the ratios between the electrical diastole and electrical systole (TQ/QT) and between the cardiac cycle and electrical diastole (RR/TQ), both for uncorrected and corrected intervals) in a sample of 50 healthy subjects (age interval 19–23 years, mean age 21.27 ± 1.41 years, 33 women and 17 men). Subjects’ measurements were performed with a bioimpedancemetry body composition analyzer and a portable ECG monitor with six leads. Starting from the correlations obtained between the investigated continuous variables, we performed a standard linear regression analysis between the body composition parameters and the ECG ones. Our results revealed that some of our regression models are statistically significant (p < 0.001). Thus, a specific part of the variability of the dependent variables (ECG ventricular activity parameters for corrected QT intervals) is explained by the independent variable BFP. Therefore, body composition influences ventricular electrical activity in young adults, which implies a differentiated interpretation of the electrocardiogram in these situations.