The “BIA International Database” aims to build a large and diverse multi-ethnic dataset of BIA raw measures and derived body components by pooling data from multiple countries.
These data can be shared for research investigations to enable a better understanding about body composition variability in association with age, sex, ethnicity, geography, and health status and to develop robust normative values.
With this project, the following steps will be addressed
Step 1: Building a large database of BIA raw and derived parameters. Minimal and associated data includes.
Age, sex, anthropometry (body mass and height), Resistance (R), Reactance (Xc), Impedance (Z), and PhA, country, year of data collection, device characteristic (single-frequency-BIA, multifrequency-BIA, spectroscopy-BIS), ethnicity, and health status.
To see the desirable additional data and the specific guidelines for preparing the database, please read Steps 3 and 4.
Step 2: Data Management.
The data will be hosted at the Exercise and Health Laboratory of the Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon by using an online portal.
Step 3: Data Security.
All included datasets will be part of projects approved by their respective ethics committee.
The authors should send the code, institution and date of the ethics committee form when submitting their database for approval.
After confirmation of inclusion by the management group, each individual in each database will be given a new code to further guarantee confidentiality and privacy.
All received data will be converted into password protected files and stored at FMH server, with access limited to the chairman of the management group, Analiza M Silva, or members designed by the group.
Access to the whole or part of the database will be supervised, as authors aiming to use the database must first obtain the approval by the management group, providing their intended analysis and assuring that rules of privacy and data protection will be complied with, as described in Step 6.
After following these steps, a separate password will be generated to protect the document including the selected columns of interest for the purposed analysis.
This document will also be password protected, only acknowledged by the chairman of the management group or members designed by the group, namely the authors of the purposed analysis. A detailed record will be created to monitor this data-sharing process.
The received databases have already codified data without any personal identifier, making the data untraceable to the corresponding individual, and complying with the GDPR key requirements.
Step 4: Data Sharing.
The willingness to submit data for inclusion into the database is appreciated. Potential collaborators should download and carefully read the document “The BIA International Database Guide”.
If the data fulfills all the criteria, the excel document “The BIA International Database Template" should be downloaded and filled, accordingly.
Then, the document should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. A data transfer agreement between contributors and the Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon is also recommended.
An example of the data share agreement is provide “The BIA International Database Transfer Agreement” but additional changes can be performed to better accommodate specific institutional requirements.
Step 5: Data Analysis.
To get an overall description of the types of data already available in the database, please download the file “The BIA International Database Data Overview”.
At present, the database contains 274,105 measures from individuals ranging from 11 months to 102 years, along with additional data on these participants. A list of published papers and/or approved analyses will be continuously added to the website.
Step 6: Data access.
Several steps are required to get access and to perform an analysis in the database, namely: i) download and fill out a form (“The BIA International Database Publications Policy”) agreeing up front to the publication policy; ii) create an analysis proposal (“The BIA International Database Proposed Analysis”), providing a succinct summary, including the variables from the dataset that will be required, population of interest, and a brief timeframe for data analysis; iii) submit your proposed analysis to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; iv) the management group will discuss the idea and will provide a feedback within 4 weeks.
If the management group provides a favorable response, a file with the approved data will be provided to perform data analysis and manuscript preparation.
Step 7: Publication policy.
Individuals submitting data will be acknowledged as authors, if they agree on publications from the database that use the data they contributed, allowing up to 2 authors per contributed dataset.
Manuscripts using the database must adhere to a number of rules that have been agreed upon by the management group, including those draft manuscripts must be approved by the management group (“The BIA International Database Publications Policy”).
Please check the following Figure to understand the process of “Data Sharing” and “Data Analysis”.
References
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- Gupta D, Lis CG, Dahlk SL, Vashi PG, Grutsch JF, Lammersfeld CA. Bioelectrical impedance phase angle as a prognostic indicator in advanced pancreatic cancer. The British journal of nutrition. 2004;92(6):957-62.
- Kyle UG, Genton L, Pichard C. Low phase angle determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis is associated with malnutrition and nutritional risk at hospital admission. Clinical nutrition. 2013;32(2):294-9.
- Kyle UG, Soundar EP, Genton L, Pichard C. Can phase angle determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis assess nutritional risk? A comparison between healthy and hospitalized subjects. Clinical nutrition. 2012;31(6):875-81.
- Schwenk A, Beisenherz A, Romer K, Kremer G, Salzberger B, Elia M. Phase angle from bioelectrical impedance analysis remains an independent predictive marker in HIV-infected patients in the era of highly active antiretroviral treatment. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2000;72(2):496-501.
- Marini E, Sergi G, Succa V, Saragat B, Sarti S, Coin A, et al. Efficacy of specific bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) for assessing body composition in the elderly. The journal of nutrition, health & aging. 2013;17(6):515-21.
