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Interobserver reliability of skinfold measurements in infants and young children
Insights
This study assessed skinfold measurement reliability in young children. Results show high interobserver reliability for most skinfolds, with lower measurement error compared to older populations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric anthropometry
- Body composition assessment
- Reliability studies
Background:
- Accurate body composition measurement is crucial for pediatric health assessment.
- Skinfold anthropometry is a common method for estimating body fat.
- Reliability of skinfold measurements can vary with age and observer skill.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine interobserver reliability of five common skinfold measurements in young children (9-24 months).
- To compare measurement error in this cohort with existing data from older children and adolescents.
- To identify factors influencing skinfold measurement accuracy in different age groups.
Main Methods:
- Interobserver reliability was assessed for triceps, biceps, subscapular, suprailiac, and abdominal skinfolds.
- Measurements were taken on 77 children aged 9-24 months.
- Technical errors of measurement and coefficients of variation were calculated and compared to published data.
Main Results:
- Four of the five skinfolds demonstrated high interobserver reliability, with no significant between-observer variation.
- The biceps skinfold showed a statistically significant between-observer variation (p < .01).
- Measurement errors were lower in this young cohort compared to U.S. Health Examination Survey and Guatemalan studies.
Conclusions:
- Standard skinfold anthropometry is reliable for assessing body composition in infants and toddlers.
- Younger children exhibit lower measurement error than older populations, potentially due to smaller skinfold thickness.
- The findings support the use of skinfold measurements in pediatric research and clinical practice, with attention to specific sites like the biceps.
Abstract:
Interobserver reliabilities were determined for the triceps, biceps, subscapular, suprailiac, and abdominal skinfolds in 77 children, 9-24 months of age. Technical errors of measurement (replicate variances) and coefficients of variation were compared to data on 12-17-year-olds from the U.S. Health Examination Survey (HES) to 2.5-7-year-old Guatamalan children. Of the five skinfolds, the between-observer variation was not significantly different from zero in four; in the case of the biceps fold, F-ratio was significant at p less than .01. Errors of measurement are less for these data than for the HES or Guatemalan studies. This difference is attributed to the larger means of the older children and youth, as well as to the greater error of measurement shown to exist for larger skinfolds.