ABSTRACT
A variety of methods have been used to normalize left ventricular mass (LVM) to body size, including dividing LVM by a body size variable such as stature or body surface area. However, body proportions change dramatically with growth and maturation, and the relationship between the LVM and stature differs depending on stage of development (Dewey et al., 2008). Further, adjusting or scaling cardiac measurements to body surface area is influenced by body composition (Rowland and Roti, 2010), which in turn is related to growth and maturation. Ratio standards are routinely used to interpret physiological and morphological measurements of youth and adults contrasting in body size and composition descriptors. Allometric models are effective for partitioning the effects of body size and have been recommended as providing a “size-free” expression of physiological parameters (de Simone et al., 1992).Dividing LVM by stature to a power of 2.7 (de Simone et al., 1992) is the most widely accepted indexing method in older children and adolescents. Recent studies (e.g., Rowland and Roti, 2010), have shown that fat-free mass (FFM), a surrogate for metabolically active tissue, is most closely and positively related to LVM. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of various body-size and body-composition indicators on LVM and, to explore the independent and combined effects of maturation, body-size and body-composition indicators on LVM, using proportional allometric modelling.
