Computerised Algorithms Showed Promise in Identifying Swedish Children With Atypical Growth Patterns

We used computerised algorithms comparing the performance of the growth assessment criteria recommended in Sweden with those used in Finland and established by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF).

Historical data from 3214 Swedish children (51.6% girls) at 4, 6, and 8 years of age were compared with five Finnish screening parameters: the height standard deviation score (height-SDS), body mass index standard deviation score (BMI-SDS), differences in those over time and deviations from target height. In addition, BMI cut-offs in the Swedish, Finnish, and IOTF growth references were compared.

The Finnish screening algorithms identified up to 1.8% of Swedish children with low height-SDS or a negative change in height-SDS, and up to 1.5% with high height-SDS or a positive change in height-SDS. They also identified 26.4% more children with BMI corresponding to underweight, overweight or obesity than the IOTF measure. The Swedish cut-off identified a larger proportion than the Finnish algorithms: 17.4% of boys and 13.6% of girls were short at 4 years of age, while 15.5% of boys and 18.6% of girls were tall. Most children with atypical values were identified by this age.

Computerised Finnish algorithms could identify Swedish children with atypical growth patterns.