Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 28, 2025

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

Comparison between the World Health Organization and Bahraini children growth standards

Shahzalan Almughlaq¹, Abdel-Ameer Al-Laith¹, Salwa Al-Thawadi¹

¹University of Bahrain, Al Sakhir, Kingdom of Bahrain.

Revista Paulista De Pediatria : Orgao Oficial Da Sociedade De Pediatria De Sao Paulo

|May 31, 2023

Insights

Bahraini infants and young children (0-24 months) are taller and heavier than WHO growth standards. This study provides Bahrain-specific growth charts, highlighting a need for further research into growth determinants.

Area of Science:

Pediatric growth studies
Anthropometry
Public health surveillance

Background:

Establishing accurate growth references is crucial for monitoring child health.
Existing global growth charts may not fully represent diverse populations.
Bahraini children's growth patterns require specific investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the growth patterns of Bahraini infants and young children aged 0-24 months.
To develop Bahrain-specific growth charts and tables.
To compare Bahraini growth data with international standards.

Main Methods:

Cross-sectional study of 403 healthy Bahraini infants/children (0-24 months).
Collection of anthropometric data (weight, length) and feeding practices.
Application of Generalized Additive Models for Location Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) for percentile and Z-score chart construction.

Main Results:

Bahraini males showed statistically significantly higher anthropometrics than females across all age groups.
Bahraini infants/children exhibited slightly higher length and weight compared to WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study (MGRS) data.
Developed percentile and Z-score charts for weight-for-age, length-for-age, length-for-weight, and BMI-for-age.

Conclusions:

Bahraini children (0-24 months) are taller and heavier than those represented in WHO-MGRS charts.
Significant differences necessitate the use of Bahrain-specific growth references.
Further longitudinal studies using advanced methods are recommended to explore growth deviations.

Read full analysis

Abstract

Objective:

The aim of this study was to investigate the growth patterns of Bahraini female and male infants/young children aged 0-24 months in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Methods:

A cross-sectional approach was employed to track the growth parameters among healthy Bahraini female and male infants/children aged 0-24 months. A multistage probability sampling criteria was used to collect information from official records. Anthropometric measurements (weight and length) and demographic characteristics on feeding practices were gathered. Generalized Additive Models for Location Scale and Shape (GAMLSS)/Lambda-Mu-Sigma methodology was implemented to select distribution type, optimize smoothing parameters, perform regression of growth models, and construct percentiles and Z-score charts and tables for weight for age, length for age, length for weight, and body mass index (BMI) for age.

Results:

Findings were compared with WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study (MGRS) data. A total of 403 healthy infants/children (210 males and 193 females) were recruited. At birth, the mean weight, length, and BMI were 3.2±0.4 kg, 3.1±0.4 kg, 49.7±2.3 cm, 48.8±2.1 cm, 13.2±1.6 kg/m2, and 12.8±1.5 kg/m2 for males and females, respectively. Anthropometrics of males were all statistically significantly higher than those of females at all age levels. The length and weight of the Bahraini infants/children were slightly higher than those of the WHO-MGRS.

Conclusion:

The outcomes of this study, presented as charts and tables, showed significant differences in comparison with the WHO-MGRS reference charts. Specifically, Bahraini children aged between 0 and 24 months of both sexes were taller and heavier than their cohorts in the MGRS reference charts. Further longitudinal studies are needed for monitoring the growth pattern of children using body composition methods, adiposity markers, and determinant factors of growth to investigate this deviation from the WHO-MGRS.

More Related Videos

Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts

Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts

Published on: January 29, 2018

Quantified Assessment of Infant's Gross Motor Abilities Using a Multisensor Wearable

Quantified Assessment of Infant's Gross Motor Abilities Using a Multisensor Wearable

Published on: May 17, 2024

Related Concept Videos

International Nursing Organizations II

International Nursing Organizations II

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Geneva. The WHO has many initiatives that center around health. Primarily, they lead global efforts to expand universal health coverage using science-based policies and programs. They are also responsible for shaping health research agendas and developing norms and standards.
The WHO provides expert team support, including funding, vaccines, testing, and treatment tools at the country level to fight...

Nature and Nurture

Nature and Nurture

Many human characteristics, like height, are shaped by both nature—in other words, by our genes—and by nurture, or our environment. For example, chronic stress during childhood inhibits the production of growth hormones and consequently reduces bone growth and height. Scientists estimate that 70-90% of variation in height is due to genetic differences among individuals, and 10-30% of variation in height is due to differences in the environments that individuals experience,...

Variation: Normal Distribution, Range, and Standard Deviation

Variation: Normal Distribution, Range, and Standard Deviation

In the field of psychology, there are several ways to organize measurements of a trait, feature, or characteristic (i.e., variables). Qualitative data, such as ethnicity, can be tabulated into a frequency count to provide information about the proportion, as well as the variety of groups in a sample or population. On the other hand, researchers can perform a wider set of calculations on quantitative data. The mean, mode, and median, for instance, are central tendency measures to identify a...

Methods of Documentation V: CBE

Methods of Documentation V: CBE

Charting by Exception, or CBE, is a method of documentation used in healthcare, particularly in nursing, that focuses on documenting only significant or abnormal findings rather than recording every detail. This approach aims to streamline the documentation process, improve efficiency, and ensure that healthcare providers can quickly identify deviations from normalcy in patient assessments.
In CBE, healthcare professionals establish predefined standards of practice that define what constitutes...

Testing a Claim about Standard Deviation

Testing a Claim about Standard Deviation

A complete procedure to test a claim about population standard deviation or population variance is explained here.
The hypothesis testing for the claim of population standard deviation (or variance) requires the data and samples to be random and unbiased. The population distribution also must be normal. There is no specific requirement on the sample size as the estimation is based on the chi-square distribution.
As a first step, the hypothesis (null and alternative) concerning the claim about...

Oxygen Requirements and Growth Patterns

Oxygen Requirements and Growth Patterns

Microorganisms exhibit diverse oxygen requirements and growth patterns driven by their metabolic strategies and environmental adaptations. Oxygen, while essential for many organisms, can also be toxic under certain conditions, shaping how microorganisms grow and survive.Oxygen Requirements of MicroorganismsMicroorganisms are classified based on their ability to use or tolerate oxygen:● Obligate aerobes like Mycobacterium tuberculosis need oxygen for energy production, as it serves as the...

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Exploring the Binding Interaction of Active Compound of Pineapple against Foodborne Bacteria and Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Based on Molecular Docking and Simulation Studies.

Nutrients·2022

See all related articles