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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Role of Skinfold Thickness and MUAC in Predicting Insulin Resistance: ROC And Regression Analysis
Neslihan Gürcan Kaya1, Yasemin Kinali Çetin2
1Depatmament of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Ankara Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
|June 8, 2026
Summary
Standardized skinfold thickness and mid-upper arm circumference measurements effectively predict insulin resistance in obese children. These non-invasive markers, particularly skinfold thickness SDS, offer superior early detection of metabolic risk compared to raw values.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Metabolic Health
- Anthropometry
Background:
- Early detection of insulin resistance (IR) in children is crucial for preventing long-term metabolic complications.
- While anthropometric measures like mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and skinfold thickness are used, their predictive value, especially when age-standardized, requires further evaluation.
- This study addresses the need for reliable, non-invasive markers for IR in pediatric obesity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the predictive performance of raw, SDS, and percentile measurements of MUAC and skinfold thickness for insulin resistance in pediatric patients with obesity.
- To compare the effectiveness of standardized versus raw anthropometric measurements in identifying IR.
- To identify optimal cutoffs for standardized measures for early IR detection.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 171 obese children and adolescents (aged 6-18 years).
- Collection of anthropometric measurements (MUAC, skinfold thickness) and conversion to SDS and percentile values.
- Assessment of insulin resistance using HOMA-IR with pubertal-stage-adjusted cutoffs, analyzed via logistic regression and ROC analysis.
Main Results:
- Insulin resistance was prevalent in 56.1% of the study cohort.
- Standardized measures (SDS, percentiles) showed significantly stronger prediction of IR than raw measurements.
- Skinfold thickness SDS (OR=12.04) and MUAC SDS (OR=7.28) were strong independent predictors of IR, with excellent discriminatory power (AUC=0.82 for skinfold SDS).
Conclusions:
- Skinfold thickness SDS and MUAC SDS are effective, practical, and non-invasive predictors of insulin resistance in obese pediatric patients.
- Standardized anthropometric measurements significantly outperform raw values for IR prediction.
- Integrating skinfold thickness SDS and MUAC SDS into routine clinical assessments can enhance early detection of metabolic risk in children.
