[Measurement or estimation of body length in older nursing home patients]

Measurement of body height of elderly persons can be difficult or impossible because of inability to stand or inability to stand in the right position. In seventy-five percent of elderly patients of a nursing home (n = 281) height could not be measured. Measurement of the height in a recumbent position was possible in fifty-five percent of the patients and measurement of arm span, used as a substitute for height, in sixty percent. Knee height could be measured in 95% of the patients; height can however roughly be estimated from knee height. Indices reflecting nutritional status, which require height as a variable (such as Quetelet Index), are of limited use for elderly patients in nursing homes.