Estimation of Height from Arm Span in 6-11 Years Children in Odisha, India
AC01-AC04
Correspondence
Dr. Himel Mondal,
Junior Resident, Department of Physiology, MKCG Medical College, Ganjam-760004, Odisha, India.
E-mail: himelmkcg@gmail.com
Introduction: Standing height is an important anthropometric parameter to track longitudinal growth, to estimate body fatness and to calculate energy requirement. Measurement of height may be difficult in children who cannot stand.
Aim: To establish regression equation for estimation of height from arm span in children. To check comparative relevancy of this equation with fixed height-to-arm span ratio (HAR) for estimation of height.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 6-11 years school children (n=1465, Boys=774, Girls=691) in state of Odisha, India. Height was measured by portable stadiometer and arm span was measured by fiberglass measuring tape to nearest 0.1 cm. Pearson correlation and regression analysis was carried out between height and arm span data. p<0.05 (two tail) was considered statistically significant.
Results: Mean height and arm span in boys (124.16±8.74 cm and 125.57±10.43 cm respectively) was significantly more (p<0.001) than height and arm span in girls (121.18±10.37 cm and 121.50±11.68 cm respectively). Mean HAR was 0.9942±0.0279. Correlation between height and arm span in boys was r = 0.94 (p<0.001) and in girls was r = 0.96 (p<0.001). Overall correlation coefficient was r = 0.95 (p<0.001). Regression equation for estimation of height from arm span was established: Height (cm) = 0.8192 * arm span (cm) + 21.46.
Conclusion: Height in children of 6-11 years showed strong positive correlation with arm span. Regression equation established from this study can be used to estimate height from arm span. This estimation is more reliable than estimation of height from HAR.