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Updated: May 20, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Validation of mid upper arm circumference cut offs to diagnose severe wasting in Indian children
Insights
A mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) cut-off of 120 mm best identifies severe wasting in children aged 6 months to 5 years. This measurement offers a better balance of sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing malnutrition in outpatient settings.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutritional Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Malnutrition, particularly severe wasting, remains a critical global health issue in young children.
- Accurate and accessible screening tools are essential for early detection and intervention in pediatric populations.
- Mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) is a widely used anthropometric measure for nutritional assessment.
Abstract:
This study aimed to assess the sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and Youden index for mid-upper-arm-circumference cut-off of 115 mm to diagnose severe wasting (as defined by the revised WHO standards) in 346 underweight children aged 6 months to 5 years from an outpatient setting. A cut-off of 115 mm had a better performance (sensitivity 43.2%, specificity 90%, Youden index 0.32) than 110 mm (sensitivity 26.4%, specificity 95.9%, Youden index 0.22) in diagnosing severe wasting. The best performance in terms of a balance between sensitivity and specificity was that of 120 mm (sensitivity 74.4%, specificity 77.8%, Youden index 0.52).
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