Body composition in ambulatory women with multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE To compare whole-body fat mass and fat-free mass (FFM) in ambulatory patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and control subjects without MS. DESIGN Nonrandomized controlled trial or cross-sectional study. SETTING An exercise physiology laboratory at a medical school. PARTICIPANTS Seventeen ambulatory patients with MS and 12 control subjects (all subjects were women). The median Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score was 4.0 for the individuals with MS. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Whole-body percentage of fat-free mass (%FFM), percentage of body fat (%BF), FFM, and fat mass. RESULTS A significant difference in age was observed between the groups; thus, age was used as a covariate in the body composition analyses. No significant differences were observed between the groups in %BF: 32.5+/-13.9 and 27.8+/-5.6 (P=.54) for MS and controls, respectively, or %FFM, 67.1+/-14.9 and 71.3+/-12.4 (P=.42) for MS and controls, respectively. For individuals with MS, no significant relation was observed between EDSS score and %BF (P=.24) or between EDSS score and %FFM (P=.24). CONCLUSION No significant differences were observed in body composition between ambulatory MS patients and controls. Furthermore, the EDSS score was not a significant predictor of %BF or %FFM for people with MS.