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Comparison of the growth standards between Saudi and American children aged 0-5 years

Yagob Y Al-Mazrou1, Maysoon M Al-Amoud, Sirrag E El-Gizouli

  • 1Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 11176, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. yalmazrou@hotmail.com

Saudi Medical Journal
|July 9, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Saudi children

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Growth Monitoring

Background:

  • The National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS) growth standards are currently used in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
  • Accurate growth monitoring is essential for child health and development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare national growth monitoring data from KSA with NCHS growth standards.
  • To determine the appropriateness of NCHS standards for the Saudi pediatric population.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample size of 24,000 children from 5 regions in KSA.
  • Data was collected from 102 randomly selected Primary Health Care centers.
  • Weight, height, and head circumference were measured using standard procedures and compared with NCHS data.

Main Results:

  • A total of 23,821 children (11,913 boys, 11,908 girls) were analyzed.
  • Significant differences were observed between Saudi and NCHS growth percentiles.
  • The study highlights variations between Saudi children and the NCHS reference population.

Conclusions:

  • National growth figures are more appropriate for monitoring Saudi children's growth than NCHS data.
  • Implementing national growth standards ensures accurate follow-up and assessment of child health in KSA.
Abstract

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