title: Chest and mid-arm circumferences: identification of low birth weight newborns in Turkey.
abstract: The present study was performed to find out which anthropometric measurement(s) could efficiently be substituted for weight to detect neonates with low birth weight at birth. A total of 874 neonates, between 32 and 43 weeks of gestational age were measured within 24 h of birth to interpret the validity of anthropometric measurements. Low birth weight was observed in 10 per cent of the neonates. The study showed a significant correlation (P < 0.001) between chest circumference, mid-arm circumference, head circumference, length, and birth weight. However, the correlation was maximum for chest circumference (r = 0.855) and mid-arm circumference (r = 0.791). A chest circumference of < 30 cm and a mid-arm circumference of < 9 cm had the best sensitivity and specificity for identifying neonates with a birth weight of < 2500 g. Chest circumference and/or mid-arm circumference can be used as simple and reliable indicators for predicting low birth weight whenever weighing of newborns is not feasible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Malatya, Turkey.
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Arisoy
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sarman
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry; D001132:Arm; D001724:Birth Weight; D001827:Body Height; D006257:Head; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013909:Thorax; D014421:Turkey