Is whole body impedance a predictor of blood viscosity?

Bioelectrical impedancemetry (BIA) has received a widespread interest as a non-invasive approach to body fluid volumes. Since similar techniques have been studied to assess in vitro rheological properties of blood, we investigated the relationships between whole body impedance and blood viscosity parameters in order to determine possible predictive equations. 30 sportsmen (24.6+/-1.01 years; 73.96+/-1.62 kg; 177.73+/-1.33 cm) were enrolled into the study. Body composition was assessed with a multifrequency bioelectrical impedancemeter (Dietosystem Human IM Scan) using low intensity at the following frequencies: 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 kHz. Viscometric measurements were done at 1000 s(-1) with a falling ball viscometer (MT 90 Medicatest). Hematocrit (Hct) was measured with microcentrifuge. A standardized exercise test was performed on a cycloergometer during 25 minutes. Physical working capacity (W-170) was calculated and V-O2 (max) was evaluated with Astrand nomograms. Two hemorheological parameters were independently correlated with impedance (Z) measurements: whole blood viscosity (WBV) at 100 kHz (r=0.518; p=0.01) and Hct at 1 kHz (r=-0.485; p=0.01). Plasma viscosity was correlated multilinearly with water/fat free mass and Z at 10 kHz (r=0.441; p=0.02). In addition both WBV and Z at 100 kHz exhibited correlations with aerobic working capacity (V-O2 (max)) with r=-0.482 and r=-0.475 (pless than or equal to0.05), respectively. A stepwise regression analysis selects Z at 100 kHz instead of WBV as a predictor of V-O2 (max). These findings confirm our previous reports about relationships between whole body conductance for high frequency and aerobic working capacity and suggest a new approach for non-invasive evaluation of blood rheology with BIA.