Applications of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Diagnosis of Diseases: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Introduction: Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) is a safe, non-invasive, painless, portable, and inexpensive technology that has the prospect to provide information related to the dynamic performance of the human body. Body Composition (BC) assessment is widely accepted as a clinical method to diagnose and evaluate disease status. Aim: To predict and validate the applicability of BIA in diagnosis of diseases such as Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Heart Failure (HF), Pregnancy and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Materials and Methods: A systematic clinical review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines {PubMed, The Cochrane Archive, Web of Research, Medline, and SPORTDiscus with complete text (EBSCO)}. A literature review was carried out randomly, from 2000 to 2018, published in English; the keyword combinations were evaluated using Boolean operators “OR” and “AND” for BIA, CKD, COPD, HF, Pregnancy, SCI. Results: A total of 1156 search terms, 1139 citations were excluded, and 17 potentially qualifying articles were shortlisted. Hence, as per the inclusion criteria, three articles on COPD, three articles on CKD, three articles on pregnancy, four articles on HF, and four SCI articles were shortlisted. Conclusion: The calculated BIA parameters showed that the patient’s actual health could be analysed quickly to monitor the disease progression and provide significant advances in developing therapies for the diseases. However, this paper recommends further study on BIA to improve a clinical assessment of BC.