ArticleNutrition research and practice2019
Performance of mid-upper arm circumference to diagnose acute malnutrition in a cross-sectional community-based sample of children aged 6-24 months in Niger.
Article in Nutrition research and practice, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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12 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative effectiveness of lipid-nutrient spread supplementation regimens for moderate acute malnutrition in Ethiopia: The MODAM-MAM individually randomized controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2026Trial
- Impact of Integration of Severe Acute Malnutrition Treatment in Primary Health Care Provided by Community Health Workers in Rural Niger.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Diagnostic performance of MUAC and MUACZ in screening acute malnutrition among children aged 6-23 months in Amhara Region, Ethiopia.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Acute malnutrition and food insecurity in Yemen, 2021: Evidence from a two-stage cluster randomised survey in a protracted crisis.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Diagnostic accuracy of MUAC for assessment of acute malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months in Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Diagnostic Accuracy of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference for the Detection of Acute Malnutrition Among Children Aged 6-60 Months: A Diagnostic Accuracy Study.Journal of research in health sciences · 2024Article
- Family-led mid-upper arm circumference (FL-MUAC) approach and the screening of acute malnutrition in children aged 6 to 59 months in Africa: a scoping review.The Pan African medical journal · 2024Article
- Association of Postpartum Depression with Maternal Serum Magnesium Levels, Infant Growth, and Neurodevelopmental Indices.International journal of preventive medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- Accuracy of Using Mid-Upper Arm Circumference to Detect Wasting Among Children Aged 6-59 Months in Nepal.Global health, science and practice · 2021Article
- Article
- Validity of "Mid-Upper Arm Circumference" as a Parameter to Identify Undernourished Children in Rural Gujarat.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social MedicineArticle
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesAccurate, early identification of acutely malnourished children has the potential to reduce related child morbidity and mortality. The current World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines classify non-oedematous acute malnutrition among children under five using Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) or Weight-for-Height Z-score (WHZ). However, there is ongoing debate regarding the use of current MUAC cut-offs. This study investigates the diagnostic performance of MUAC to identify children aged 6-24 months with global (GAM) or severe acute malnutrition (SAM). SUBJECTS/
methodsCross-sectional, secondary data from a community sample of children aged 6-24 months in Niger were used for this study. Children with complete weight, height and MUAC data and without clinical oedema were included. Using WHO guidelines for GAM (WHZ < -2, MUAC < 12.5 cm) and SAM (WHZ < -3, MUAC < 11.5 cm), the sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), predictive values, Youden Index and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated for MUAC when compared with the WHZ reference criterion.
resultsOf 1161 children, 23.3% were diagnosed with GAM using WHZ, and 4.4% with SAM. Using current WHO cut-offs, the Se of MUAC to identify GAM was greater than for SAM (79 vs. 57%), yet the Sp was lower (84 vs. 97%). From inspection of the ROC curve and Youden Index, Se and Sp were maximised for MUAC < 12.5 cm to identify GAM (Se 79%, Sp 84%), and MUAC < 12.0 cm to identify SAM (Se 88%, Sp 81%).
conclusionsThe current MUAC cut-off to identify GAM should continue to be used, but when screening for SAM, a higher cut-off could improve case identification. Community screening for SAM could use MUAC < 12.0 cm followed by appropriate treatment based on either MUAC < 11.5 cm or WHZ < -3, as in current practice. While the practicalities of implementation must be considered, the higher SAM MUAC cut-off would maximise early case-finding of high-risk acutely malnourished children.
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