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Extended growth charts for Indian children
Vaman Khadikar1, Anuradha V Khadilkar1,2, Nikhil N Lohiya3
1Department of Growth and Pediatric Endocrinology, Hirabai Cowasji Jehangir Medical Research Institute, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
Insights
New Indian growth charts now include extended height z-score lines and a BMI screening tool for children aged 0-18 years. These updated charts aid endocrinologists in diagnosing growth disorders and assessing nutritional status efficiently.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Growth and Development
- Nutritional Assessment
Background:
- Standard growth charts lack lower z-score lines crucial for diagnosing growth disorders in Indian children.
- Increasing childhood overweight and obesity rates require efficient nutritional screening tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop extended Indian growth charts with additional z-score height lines (-2.25, -2.5, -3).
- To incorporate a quick Body Mass Index (BMI) assessment tool for immediate nutritional screening.
- To provide user-friendly charts for Indian children aged 0-18 years.
Main Methods:
- Generated new z-score height lines using LMS values from IAP 2015 and WHO 2006 growth charts.
- Integrated these extended height lines with standard percentile lines (3-97).
- Developed a modified BMI quick screening tool as an inset.
Main Results:
- Extended height charts with 10 lines (including new z-scores) were created for boys and girls (0-18 years).
- Standard weight charts (7 lines) were retained.
- A unified chart incorporating extended height, standard weight, and BMI screening tool was produced.
Conclusions:
- The new charts facilitate precise height z-score cutoff definition for diagnosis.
- The integrated BMI tool allows for rapid screening of overweight and obesity without calculations.
- These resources support improved clinical management of growth and nutritional status in Indian children.
Objectives:
While growth charts depicting 7 percentile lines for height and weight are useful for healthcare workers and pediatricians, endocrinologists need indication-specific z score cutoffs to plan investigations and treatment. The current Indian charts do not offer lower percentile/z scores (-2.25, -2.5, and -3 z score) lines. Also, increasing prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity necessitates a quick screening of nutritional status without calculations while using the same growth chart. Our objectives were to produce extended and user-friendly growth charts for 0-18-year-old Indian children that depict -2.25, -2.5, and -3 z score height lines in addition to the standard 7 lines and to add a quick BMI assessment tool as an inset.
Methods:
LMS values from IAP 2015 growth charts (5-18 years) and WHO 2006 MGRS charts (<5 years) were used to generate -2.25, -2.5, and -3 z score height lines (1.2, 0.6, and 0.1 percentiles, respectively) from 0-18 year for boys and girls. These newly generated lines were added to standard 7 (3, 10, 25, 50, 75, 90, 97) percentile lines for height charts. In addition, modified BMI quick screening tool was incorporated as an inset.
Results:
The extended height charts (with 10 lines), standard (7 lines) weight charts, and quick BMI assessment tool are presented in a single unified chart for use by endocrinologists.
Conclusions:
These charts will help in defining specific height z score cutoffs as well as screen for overweight and obesity without any calculations in Asian Indian children.
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