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Subjective vs. Objective Urine Color: Effect of Hydration Status

Received: 5 August 2020     Accepted: 24 August 2020     Published: 3 September 2020
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Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the validity of urine color as a metric of hydration status using CIE L*a*b* color space, as compared to the commonly used subjective 8-point scale. Methods: A total of 151 urine samples were collected from subjects (N=28) in various states of hydration. Urine osmolality and urine specific gravity (USG) were measured in each sample. Urine color was assessed by the subjective 8-point urine color scale and quantified using CIE L*a*b* color space. RESULTS: The correlation between the CIE b*-value and urine osmolality (rs=0.89) was determined to be significantly (p=0.004) greater than the correlation between the subjective 8-point urine color scale and urine osmolality (rs=0.85). The correlation between the CIE b*-value and USG (rs=0.90) was also determined to be significantly (p < 0.001) greater than the correlation between the urine color chart and USG (rs=0.84). Lastly, the correlation between urine color as determined by the 8-point subjective urine color chart and the CIE b*-value had a strong relationship (rs=0.92). Conclusions: The correlations of the quantitative CIE b*-value with urine osmolality and USG were significantly greater than the correlations with the 8-point subjective urine color scale. This suggests that a quantitative measurement of urine color via spectrophotometry is a better measure for assessing hydration status vs. subjective determination of urine color. The results of the current study raise the possibility of spectrophotometry as an additional non-invasive method of determining hydration status.

Published in Advances in Applied Physiology (Volume 5, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.aap.20200502.12
Page(s) 19-23
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Urine Color, Urine Osmolality, CIE L*a*b* Color Space, Dehydration

References
[1] Armstrong, L. E., et al. (1994). Urinary indices of hydration status. International Journal of Sport Nutrition, vol. 4, no. 3, 1994, pp. 265-279., doi: 10.1123/ijsn.4.3.265.
[2] Armstrong, L. E., Johnson, E. C., Munoz, C. X., Swokla, B., Bellego, L. L., Jimenez, L., Casa, D. J., & Maresh, C. M. (2012). Hydration biomarkers and dietary fluid consumption of women. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112 (7), 1056-1061. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2012.03.036.
[3] Hahn, R. G., & Waldréus, N. (2013). An aggregate urine analysis tool to detect acute dehydration. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 23 (4), 303-311. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.23.4.303.
[4] Kavouras, S. A., Johnson, E. C., Bougatsas, D., Arnaoutis, G., Panagiotakos, D. B., Perrier, E., & Klein, A. (2015). Validation of a urine color scale for assessment of urine osmolality in healthy children. European Journal of Nutrition, 55 (3), 907-915. doi: 10.1007/s00394-015-0905-2.
[5] Armstrong, L. E., Pumerantz, A. C., Fiala, K. A., Roti, M. W., Kavouras, S. A., Casa, D. J., & Maresh, C. M. (2010). Human hydration indices: acute and longitudinal reference values. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 20 (2), 145-153. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.20.2.145.
[6] Mckenzie, A. L., & Armstrong, L. E. (2017). Monitoring body water balance in pregnant and nursing women: the validity of urine color. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 70 (1), 18-22. doi: 10.1159/000462999.
[7] Mentes, J. C., Wakefield, B., & Culp, K. (2006). Use of a urine color chart to monitor hydration status in nursing home residents. Biological Research For Nursing, 7 (3), 197-203. doi: 10.1177/1099800405281607.
[8] Hasibuan, D., Ramayani, O., Sembiring, T., & Lubis, M. (2019). Relationship between urine color scale and urine specific gravity to hydration status in elementary school students. Global Journal For Research Analysis (GJRA), 8 (9). doi: 10.36106/gjra.
[9] Mckenzie, A. L., Muñoz, C. X., Ellis, L. A., Perrier, E. T., Guelinckx, I., Klein, A.,... Armstrong, L. E. (2015). Urine color as an indicator of urine concentration in pregnant and lactating women. European Journal of Nutrition, 56 (1), 355-362. Doi: 10.1007/s00394-015-1085-9.
[10] Fortes, M. B., Owen, J. A., Raymond-Barker, P., Bishop, C., Elghenzai, S., Oliver, S. J., & Walsh, N. P. (2015). Is this elderly patient dehydrated? Diagnostic accuracy of hydration assessment using physical signs, urine, and saliva markers. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 16 (3), 221-228. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2014.09.012.
[11] Kovacs E. M., Senden J. M., & Brouns F. (1999). Urine color, osmolality and specific electrical conductance are not accurate measures of hydration status during postexercise rehydration. J Sports Med Phys Fitness, 39: 47-53.
[12] Cheuvront, S. N., Ely, B. R., Kenefick, R. W., & Sawka, M. N. (2010). Biological variation and diagnostic accuracy of dehydration assessment markers. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 92 (3), 565-573. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2010.29490.
[13] Adams, W. M., Hevel, D. J., Maher, J. P., & Mcguirt, J. T. (2020). Racial and sex differences in 24 hour urinary hydration markers among male and female emerging adults: a pilot study. Nutrients, 12 (4), 1068. doi: 10.3390/nu12041068.
[14] Zhang, N., Du, S., Zheng, M., Tang, Z., Yan, R., Zhu, Y., & Ma, G. (2017). Urine color for assessment of dehydration among college men students in Hebei, China-a cross-sectional study. Asia Pacific Journal Clinical Nutrition, 788-793.
[15] Eid, M., Gollwitzer, M., & Schmitt, M. (2011). Statistik und forschungsmethoden lehrbuch. Weinheim: Beltz. p. 548.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Tory Edwards, Rebekah Belasco, Alfonso Joaquin Munoz, Vernon Rayo, Michael Buono. (2020). Subjective vs. Objective Urine Color: Effect of Hydration Status. Advances in Applied Physiology, 5(2), 19-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aap.20200502.12

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    ACS Style

    Tory Edwards; Rebekah Belasco; Alfonso Joaquin Munoz; Vernon Rayo; Michael Buono. Subjective vs. Objective Urine Color: Effect of Hydration Status. Adv. Appl. Physiol. 2020, 5(2), 19-23. doi: 10.11648/j.aap.20200502.12

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    AMA Style

    Tory Edwards, Rebekah Belasco, Alfonso Joaquin Munoz, Vernon Rayo, Michael Buono. Subjective vs. Objective Urine Color: Effect of Hydration Status. Adv Appl Physiol. 2020;5(2):19-23. doi: 10.11648/j.aap.20200502.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.aap.20200502.12,
      author = {Tory Edwards and Rebekah Belasco and Alfonso Joaquin Munoz and Vernon Rayo and Michael Buono},
      title = {Subjective vs. Objective Urine Color: Effect of Hydration Status},
      journal = {Advances in Applied Physiology},
      volume = {5},
      number = {2},
      pages = {19-23},
      doi = {10.11648/j.aap.20200502.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aap.20200502.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aap.20200502.12},
      abstract = {Purpose: To investigate the validity of urine color as a metric of hydration status using CIE L*a*b* color space, as compared to the commonly used subjective 8-point scale. Methods: A total of 151 urine samples were collected from subjects (N=28) in various states of hydration. Urine osmolality and urine specific gravity (USG) were measured in each sample. Urine color was assessed by the subjective 8-point urine color scale and quantified using CIE L*a*b* color space. RESULTS: The correlation between the CIE b*-value and urine osmolality (rs=0.89) was determined to be significantly (p=0.004) greater than the correlation between the subjective 8-point urine color scale and urine osmolality (rs=0.85). The correlation between the CIE b*-value and USG (rs=0.90) was also determined to be significantly (p s=0.84). Lastly, the correlation between urine color as determined by the 8-point subjective urine color chart and the CIE b*-value had a strong relationship (rs=0.92). Conclusions: The correlations of the quantitative CIE b*-value with urine osmolality and USG were significantly greater than the correlations with the 8-point subjective urine color scale. This suggests that a quantitative measurement of urine color via spectrophotometry is a better measure for assessing hydration status vs. subjective determination of urine color. The results of the current study raise the possibility of spectrophotometry as an additional non-invasive method of determining hydration status.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Subjective vs. Objective Urine Color: Effect of Hydration Status
    AU  - Tory Edwards
    AU  - Rebekah Belasco
    AU  - Alfonso Joaquin Munoz
    AU  - Vernon Rayo
    AU  - Michael Buono
    Y1  - 2020/09/03
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aap.20200502.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.aap.20200502.12
    T2  - Advances in Applied Physiology
    JF  - Advances in Applied Physiology
    JO  - Advances in Applied Physiology
    SP  - 19
    EP  - 23
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2471-9714
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aap.20200502.12
    AB  - Purpose: To investigate the validity of urine color as a metric of hydration status using CIE L*a*b* color space, as compared to the commonly used subjective 8-point scale. Methods: A total of 151 urine samples were collected from subjects (N=28) in various states of hydration. Urine osmolality and urine specific gravity (USG) were measured in each sample. Urine color was assessed by the subjective 8-point urine color scale and quantified using CIE L*a*b* color space. RESULTS: The correlation between the CIE b*-value and urine osmolality (rs=0.89) was determined to be significantly (p=0.004) greater than the correlation between the subjective 8-point urine color scale and urine osmolality (rs=0.85). The correlation between the CIE b*-value and USG (rs=0.90) was also determined to be significantly (p s=0.84). Lastly, the correlation between urine color as determined by the 8-point subjective urine color chart and the CIE b*-value had a strong relationship (rs=0.92). Conclusions: The correlations of the quantitative CIE b*-value with urine osmolality and USG were significantly greater than the correlations with the 8-point subjective urine color scale. This suggests that a quantitative measurement of urine color via spectrophotometry is a better measure for assessing hydration status vs. subjective determination of urine color. The results of the current study raise the possibility of spectrophotometry as an additional non-invasive method of determining hydration status.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, the United States

  • School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, the United States

  • School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, the United States

  • School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, the United States

  • School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, the United States

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