The Use of Arm Circumference in Simplified Screening for Acute Malnutrition by Minimally Trained Health Workers

Velzeboer, Marijke I.; Selwyn, Beatrice J.; Sargent, Frederick; Pollitt, Ernesto; Delgado, Hernán

doi:10.1093/tropej/29.3.159

Cited by 52 publications

(58 citation statements)

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“…Velzeboer et al (9), in 1983, tested the reliability (i.e., precision) of 5 minimally trained community health volunteers in rural Guatemala for weight-for-height (WH), HA, WA, MUAC, and midupper arm circumference-for-age z score (MUACAZ) and reported that, under field conditions, intraobserver reliability was highest for WA followed by MUAC, MUACAZ, HA, and WH and that interobserver reliability was highest for WA followed by MUAC, MUACAZ, WH, and HA. They also reported that, under field conditions, minimally trained workers made fewer and smaller errors with MUAC than with WA or WH (9,10). An important operational advantage for the use of MUAC is that the same cutoff is used for all children.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of midupper arm circumference and weight-for-height z score for assessing acute malnutrition in Bangladeshi children aged 6–60 mo: an analytical study

Hossain

Ahmed

Arifeen

et al. 2017

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

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Background: In clinical settings, wasting in childhood has primarily been assessed with the use of a weight-for-height z score (WHZ), and in community settings, it has been assessed via the midupper arm circumference (MUAC) with a cutoff ,115 mm for severe wasting and ,115-125 mm for moderate wasting. Our recent experience indicates that many wasted children were not identified when these cutoffs for MUAC were used. Objective: We determined the cutoffs for MUAC to detect wasting in Bangladeshi children aged 6-60 mo. Design: A secondary analysis was carried out on data from 27,767 children aged 6-59 mo. This analysis comprised 1) 9131 children across Bangladesh and 2) 18,636 children enrolled in a surveillance study in the Dhaka Hospital of icddr,b during 1996-2014. The area under the receiver operating curve was used to indicate the most appropriate choice for cutoffs that related MUAC with WHZ. Results: The mean 6 SD age for the entire group was 21 6 14 mo, WHZ was 21.18 6 1.23, height-for-age z score was 21.63 6 1.39, MUAC was 136 6 14 mm, and 45% of subjects were girls. MUAC correlated with the WHZ (r: 0.618, P , 0.001). Age-stratified analyses revealed that, for ages 6-24 mo, MUAC cutoffs were ,120 mm for a WHZ ,23 and ,125 mm for a WHZ ,22 with a sensitivity of 72.9% and 63.2%, respectively, and a specificity of 84.7% and 85.3%, respectively; for ages 25-36 mo, MUAC cutoffs were ,125 mm for a WHZ ,23 and ,135 mm for a WHZ ,22 with a sensitivity of 55.0% and 71.7%, respectively, and a specificity of 92.8% and 78.7% respectively; and for ages 37-60 mo, MUAC cutoffs were ,135 mm for a WHZ ,23 and ,140 mm for a WHZ ,22 with a sensitivity of 71.4% and 70.4%, respectively, and a specificity of 84.6% and 80.3%, respectively. Conclusion: The respective cutoffs for MUAC to better capture the vulnerability and risk of severe (WHZ ,23) and moderate (WHZ ,22) wasting would be ,120 and ,125 mm for ages 6-24 mo, ,125 and ,135 mm for ages 25-36 mo, and ,135 and ,140 mm for ages 37-60 mo.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of midupper arm circumference and weight-for-height z score for assessing acute malnutrition in Bangladeshi children aged 6–60 mo: an analytical study

Hossain

Ahmed

Arifeen

et al. 2017

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

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“…(28) Younger children tented to become upset and agitated during both height and weight measurements and that no such behaviour was observed during the measurement of MUAC. (29) Considering the rates of stunting, underweight and wasting among the same population, very high prevalence of undernutrition was also noticed. (30) CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our study clearly indicated that the nutritional status, based on MUAC, of these children was serious with high rates of undernutrition in both sexes.…”

Section: Boys Boys Girls Girlsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Nutritional Status by Mid Upper Arm Circumference (Muac) Among Rural Children of Katihar District in Kosi Region of Bihar

Singh¹,

Mukherjee²

2015

jemds

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An observational study of 500 children (267 boys and 233 girls) was undertaken during 2008-2010 at primary health centres under the aegis of Katihar Medical College in Kosi region of Bihar to assess their nutritional status using mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) in Katihar district of Bihar. Children from remote villages in rural areas located approximately 30 km from Katihar district headquarters were observed. Information on age of the children were collected from their parents. Measurement was recorded in centimetres and was procured using the standard technique. Nutritional status was determined following the World Health Organization age and sex specific cut off points. Results revealed that mean MUAC among boys was higher than girls at all ages. Significant sex differences were observed at ages 3 (p<0.05), 4 (p<0.05) and 5(p <0.05) years. Overall under nutrition were similar in both sexes. This result implied that both the sexes were equally malnourished. An increasing trend in the rates of overall malnutrition from 3 to 5 years in both sexes was observed. Our study clearly indicated that the nutritional status of children of both sexes in this age group is a serious issue. It seems appropriate to expect much improvement in the form of enhanced supplementary nutrition than what is currently being offered by the ICDS scheme in Katihar district of Bihar.

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“…It did so by looking at the reading speed and comprehension scores of children in grade 2 in four languages and three countries. Like the measurement of a child's mid-upper arm circumference to determine whether or not there is malnutrition (Velzeboer, Selwyn, Sargent, Pollitt, & Delgado, 1983), WPM is quick and focused. However, as Wagner (2011) points out, while proxy measures may serve an important purpose, they do not have the same face validity of measuring the ultimate goal of reading with comprehension.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing early grade reading: the value and limits of ‘words per minute’

Graham

Ginkel

2014

Language, Culture and Curriculum

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Primary school enrolment in low-income countries has increased in recent years. The quality of education is, however, still a cause for concern. Better measurement of early reading progress has been suggested as a means of improving education quality. Benchmarks based on the number of 'words per minute' (WPM) students are able to read correctly have been proposed as a basis for assessment and comparison, even where languages and orthographies differ. This paper explores the extent to which WPM benchmarks, based mainly on research with native English speakers, are appropriate for cross-language comparisons. A quantitative study of early grade reading in two European (English and Dutch) and two African languages (Sabaot and Pokomo) analysed WPM and comprehension scores of over 300 children in three countries. Results indicate that similar comprehension scores were associated with diverse WPM rates. This suggests that WPM is not a reliable comparative measure of reading development since linguistic and orthographic features can differ considerably and are likely to influence the reading acquisition process. We argue that a good understanding of the languages of literacy (L1 and/or other) and their effects on reading acquisition are essential to the quest for quality education.

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The Use of Arm Circumference in Simplified Screening for Acute Malnutrition by Minimally Trained Health Workers

Cited by 52 publications

References 0 publications

Comparison of midupper arm circumference and weight-for-height z score for assessing acute malnutrition in Bangladeshi children aged 6–60 mo: an analytical study

Comparison of midupper arm circumference and weight-for-height z score for assessing acute malnutrition in Bangladeshi children aged 6–60 mo: an analytical study

Assessment of Nutritional Status by Mid Upper Arm Circumference (Muac) Among Rural Children of Katihar District in Kosi Region of Bihar

Assessing early grade reading: the value and limits of ‘words per minute’

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