Evaluation of Nutritional Status by Mid-Upper Arm Circumference Amongst Affluent Children.
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Date
2012-05
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Abstract
Introduction: Anthropometry is widely accepted as low-cost technique for defining the nutritional
status of children. The mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) is a fast screening method in detecting
acute malnutrition and it is also a predictor of childhood mortality. Materials and Methods: This is the
retrospective study to evaluate the nutritional status based on mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) among
urban, pre-school age children. A total of 1060 children, aged 1 to 3 years, attending the vaccination clinic
of the Indian Red Cross Society Paschim Medinipur Hospital over a two years period, were enrolled in the
study. The measurement of MUAC (in centimetres) was taken by the standard technique. Undernutrition
was defined based on age and sex-specific MUAC cut-off values as recommended by the World Health
Organization (WHO). Results: Boys were higher level of mean MUAC than girls at all ages and there was
no significant sex differences. The age-combined rate of overall undernutrition was 18.96% and it was
slightly higher among the boys (19.38%) than girls (18.46%). The age-combined moderate undernutrition
was higher among the boys (16.08% vs 14.11%) but girls’ value was higher in case of severe undernutrition
(3.28% vs 4.35%). Conclusion: The present study showed that a remarkable number of pre-schooler was
undernourished based on MUAC.
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Keywords
Nutritional status, MUAC, pre-school Children, Affluent
Citation
Maiti S, De D, Ali K M, Ghosh A, Ghosh D, Paul S. Evaluation of Nutritional Status by Mid-Upper Arm Circumference Amongst Affluent Children. Journal of Nepal Paediatric Society. 2012 May-Aug; 32(2): 113-116.