ArticleBMJ open2021
Proposal of MUAC as a fast tool to monitor pregnancy nutritional status: results from a cohort study in Brazil.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk factors for inadequate and excessive gestational weight gain in 25 low- and middle-income countries: An individual-level participant meta-analysis.PLoS medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Trial
- Central Adiposity Indicators by Pre-Pregnancy BMI at the 23 kg/mNursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2026Article
- A Cross-sectional Study to Determine the Nutritional Status of Pregnant Women using Mid-upper Arm Circumference and Neck Circumference.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine · 2026Article
- Preconception health risk profiles among women planning pregnancy in northern Ethiopia: a latent class analysis.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Geophagia in pregnancy and its association with nutritional status - A prospective cohort study in rural north-eastern Tanzania.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Article
- Anthropometric measurements as predictors of nutritional status in black South African women during pregnancy.The journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research · 2025Observational
- Assessment of mid-upper arm circumference for detecting obesity in pregnant women: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in global women's health · 2025Article
- Article
- Gestational diabetes and changes in dietary quality and food group consumption before and during pregnancy: a pilot cross-sectional study in Malawian women attending antenatal clinics.Journal of nutritional science · 2025Article
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- Article
- Population-based prevalence of congenital defects in a routine sentinel site-based surveillance system in the Western Cape, South Africa.Birth defects research · 2024Article
- Associations between maternal dietary intake and nutritional status with fetal growth at 14 to 26 weeks gestation: a cross- sectional study.BMC nutrition · 2024Article
- Article
- The Mid-Upper Arm Circumference as a Substitute for Body Mass Index in the Assessment of Nutritional Status among Pregnant Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Article
- Article
- Prevalence of gestational diabetes in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveIn Brazil, although the assessment of maternal nutritional status is recommended using body mass index (BMI), this is only possible in settings adequately prepared. Midupper arm circumference (MUAC) is another biological variable identified as a tool for rapid assessment of nutritional status that is correlated with BMI. Therefore, we aim to surrogate BMI by MUAC cut-offs for rapid screening of maternal nutritional status starting at midpregnancy.
designAnalysis of the multicentre cohort study entitled 'Preterm SAMBA' using an approach of validation of diagnostic test.
settingOutpatient prenatal care clinics from five tertiary maternity hospitals from three different Brazilian regions.
participants1165 pregnant women attending prenatal care services from 2015 to 2018 and with diverse ethnic characteristics who were enrolled at midpregnancy and followed in three visits at different gestational weeks. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, likelihood ratio and accuracy of MUAC being used instead of BMI for the assessment of nutritional status of women during pregnancy.
resultsWe found a strong correlation between MUAC and BMI, in the three set points analysed (r=0.872, 0.870 and 0.831, respectively). Based on BMI categories of nutritional status, we estimated the best MUAC cut-off points, finding measures according to each category: underweight <25.75 cm (19-39 weeks); overweight 28.11-30.15 cm (19-21 weeks), 28.71-30.60 cm (27-29 weeks) and 29.46-30.25 cm (37-39 weeks); and obese >30.15 cm (19-21 weeks), >30.60 cm (27-29 weeks) and >30.25 cm (37-39 weeks) per gestational week. Therefore, we defined as adequate between 25.75-28.10 cm (19-21 weeks), 25.75-28.70 cm (27-29 weeks) and 25.75-29.45 cm (37-39 weeks) of MUAC.
conclusionWe conclude that MUAC can be useful as a surrogate for BMI as a faster screening of nutritional status in pregnant women.
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