Table 2.
Study measurements (mean ± standard deviation) in the arms and legs of participants with lipedema compared to controls.
| Modality | Location | Physiologic Measure | Control | Lipedema | *p-value | Cohen’s d |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sodium MRI | calf | skin sodium (mmol/L) | 14.4±2.2 | 16.3±2.6 | *0.04 | 0.75 |
| calf | SAT sodium (mmol/L) | 13.1±3.1 | 12.6±3.2 | 0.65 | 0.18 | |
| calf | muscle sodium (mmol/L) | 18.3±1.7 | 20.3±3.0 | *0.03 | 0.79 | |
| forearm | skin sodium (mmol/L) | 12.0±2.3 | 13.4±3.3 | 0.20 | 0.50 | |
| forearm | SAT sodium (mmol/L) | 12.3±2.9 | 12.3±2.4 | 0.95 | 0.02 | |
| forearm | muscle sodium (mmol/L) | 16.8±1.2 | 17.5±2.1 | 0.29 | 0.41 | |
| CSE MRI | calf | fat/water (ratio) | 0.56±0.21 | 1.03±0.37 | *<0.001 | 1.23 |
| calf | SAT area (mm2) | 3975±1751 | 6848±2298 | *<0.001 | 1.15 | |
| calf | muscle area (mm2) | 6908±1006 | 6676±1043 | 0.55 | 0.23 | |
| calf | circumference (cm) | 39.1±4.2 | 43.6±3.6 | *0.01 | 1.0 | |
| forearm | fat/water (ratio) | 0.48±0.24 | 0.65±0.24 | 0.07 | 0.68 | |
| forearm | SAT area (mm2) | 1310±832 | 1630±564 | 0.24 | 0.45 | |
| forearm | muscle area (mm2) | 2957±719 | 2750±527 | 0.39 | 0.33 | |
| forearm | circumference (cm) | 25.0±4.1 | 25.7±1.9 | 0.55 | 0.23 | |
| Perometry | lower extremity | volume (mL) | 8454±1479 | 11042±2865 | *0.01 | 0.99 |
| lower extremity | length (mm) | 692±42 | 704±46 | 0.46 | 0.28 | |
| calf | circumference (cm) | 38.5±4.0 | 41.8±6.0 | 0.10 | 0.61 | |
| ankle | circumference (cm) | 23.0±2.7 | 27.1±4.6 | *0.01 | 0.97 | |
| upper extremity | volume (mL) | 4393±588 | 4617±393 | 0.24 | 0.45 | |
| upper extremity | length (mm) | 672±37 | 680±17 | 0.50 | 0.27 | |
| forearm | circumference (cm) | 25.6±5.3 | 25.5±2.2 | 0.96 | 0.02 | |
| upper-arm | circumference (cm) | 32.8±4.1 | 35.2±3.4 | 0.10 | 0.62 | |
SAT: subcutaneous adipose tissue
*
two-sided significance level p ≤ 0.05