Body Water Distribution and Risk of Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality in a Healthy Population: A Prospective Cohort Study

Early alterations in the cardiovascular structure and function may change normal body water distribution. The resulting fluid shifts may thus serve as an early marker for cardiovascular disease. However, studies examining this in healthy populations are absent.This study examined the association between the proportion of total body water that is extracellular water and subsequent development of non-fatal or fatal cardiovascular disease in a healthy population.) was used as a surrogate measure of ratio between extracellular water and total body water. The outcome was 13.5 years of follow-up for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. = 0.68. Below the threshold there seemed to be no additional benefit of having a low ratio. from bioelectrical impedance may help the early identification of these otherwise clinically healthy individuals who are at an increased risk of future cardiovascular disease. However, more studies are needed before it can be concluded that bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy improves clinical risk prediction