ArticleBMC pediatrics2025
Validity of mid-upper arm circumference in assessing thinness among older children aged 5-9 years: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWith the high burden of malnutrition, accurate yet convenient anthropometric measurements are vital. Although body mass index (BMI) for age and sex z score (BAZ) is the recommended assessment method for children aged 5–9 years, it is quite cumbersome. Uganda adopted use of the convenient mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) for these children. However, the basis for MUAC use in this age-group is weak, requiring more evidence generation. We therefore determined validity of MUAC in assessing thinness among children aged 5–9 years.
methodsThis was a cross-sectional study. Demographic and anthropometric data was taken from children aged 5–9 years who attended 3 health facilities in Kampala district. MUAC was measured using colour-coded MUAC tapes for children aged 5–9 years and compared with the BAZ. We used a MUAC cut-off of 145 mm for wasting and below 140 mm for severe wasting as per the national guidelines. The sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values of MUAC were determined using BAZ as the gold standard. Receiver Operating Characteristic curves were plotted to determine the validity of MUAC.
resultsOf the 767 children, 51.5% were female and the mean age was 7.2 +/-1.6 years. According to MUAC, 1% had severe acute malnutrition (SAM), 2.7% moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and 96.2% had no acute malnutrition. The sensitivity and specificity of MUAC in assessment of acute malnutrition (SAM and MAM) were 22.7%, 95% CI (11.5–37.8) and 97.3%, 95% CI (95.9–98.4) respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 34.5%, 95% CI (17.9–54.3) and 95.4%, 95% CI (93.6–96.8) respectively. The area under the ROC curve was 0.30, 95%CI (0.206–0.394), indicating MUAC was a poor assessment tool for thinness, even after stratifying for age and Human Immune-deficiency Virus status.
conclusionDespite MUAC being convenient, it showed a low diagnostic performance in assessing thinness among children 5–9 years. This reiterates the need for more research on the correct MUAC cut-offs for this age-group.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.