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Updated: Sep 23, 2025

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

27.3K

Syrian national growth references for children and adolescents aged 2-20 years

Ali Zamlout1, Kamal Alwannous2, Ali Kahila3

  • 1Department of Pediatric Surgery - Faculty of Medicine, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria.

BMC Pediatrics
|May 15, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Syrian children aged 2-20 now have national growth references for monitoring development. This study established new references, revealing increased obesity and overweight prevalence in the population.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric anthropometry
  • Public health surveillance
  • Growth monitoring

Background:

  • Growth charts are essential for assessing child development.
  • Existing international growth references may not accurately reflect the Syrian population.
  • Previous assessments showed potential over/underestimation of children's anthropometrics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To establish national growth references for Syrian children aged 2-20 years.
  • To provide accurate tools for clinical assessment and public health monitoring.
  • To address the limitations of existing international growth charts.

Main Methods:

  • A multicenter cross-sectional study involving 13,548 Syrian children aged 2-20 years.
  • Collected data on stature, weight, and Body Mass Index (BMI).
  • Utilized P-splines and Box-Cox transformations (T, Power Exponential, Cole and Green) for statistical modeling and fitted models were validated using Q-tests and worm plots.

Main Results:

  • The Box-Cox T distribution best fit stature-for-age data.
  • The Box-Cox Power Exponential distribution best fit weight-for-age and BMI-for-age data.
  • National BMI cutoffs indicated a higher prevalence of obesity (boys: 4.5%, girls: 3.66%) and overweight (boys: 20.1%, girls: 19.54%) in the study population.

Conclusions:

  • New national growth references for Syrian children aged 2-20 are now available for clinical use.
  • The World Health Organization's standards are recommended for children aged 0-2 years.
  • These references will improve the accuracy of anthropometric assessments in Syrian healthcare settings.
Abstract

Keywords:
Box-Cox Cole and GreenBox-Cox Power ExponentialBox-Cox TGrowth chartsGrowth referencesSyria

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