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Diurnal variation of height in children

Zeynep Siklar1, Efgan Sanli, Yildiz Dallar

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Ankara Hospital, Turkey. zeynepsklr@hotmail.com

Pediatrics International : Official Journal of the Japan Pediatric Society
|December 16, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Children

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Human Growth and Development
  • Biometry

Background:

  • Diurnal variation in children's height is often overlooked in growth assessments.
  • Daily fluctuations in stature can impact the accuracy of height measurements.
  • This study investigated the extent of daily height measurement differences in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the degree of diurnal variation in height measurements among children.
  • To determine the clinical significance of daily height changes in pediatric growth monitoring.

Main Methods:

  • 478 children aged 3-15 years participated.
  • Height was measured twice daily: once in the morning (09:00-10:00 h) and once in the afternoon (15:00-16:00 h).

Main Results:

  • Height measurements showed a range of differences from +1.8 cm to -2.7 cm.
  • A mean decrease in height of 0.47 +/- 0.05 cm was observed throughout the day.

Conclusions:

  • Even minor height measurement differences are crucial when assessing short stature in children.
  • Recording the time of day for height measurements is recommended for improved accuracy and reliability.
Abstract

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