The use of armspan measurement to assess the nutritional status of adults in four Ethiopian ethnic groups.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the use of armspan as a proxy for height in the assessment of nutritional status using body mass index (BMI) for four ethnic groups in Ethiopia.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Four regions in Ethiopia, namely Oromia, Amhara, Tigre and Somali Region.


METHODS
A total of 1706 (884 males and 822 females) Ethiopians aged 18-50 y from four different ethnic groups.


METHODS
Anthropometric measurements (weight, height and armspan) were obtained using standard techniques. BMI using height (BMI-ht) and using armspan (BMI-as) were calculated, t-tests were used to compare means, and linear regression to investigate the relationship between BMI-ht and BMI-as.


RESULTS
Ethnic and sex differences in the relationship between height and armspan, and their derived variables (BMI-ht and BMI-as), were found. Armspan and height (r=0.83-0.9), and BMI-ht and BMI-as (r=0.89-0.97), were highly correlated in all ethnic groups. BMI-as cut-offs equivalent to the conventional BMI-ht classification of chronic energy deficiency were similar in the Oromo, Amhara and Tigre, but substantially higher in the Somalis.


CONCLUSIONS
Armspan can be used as a proxy for height to estimate BMI, but the relationship between the two measures varies considerably with ethnicity and sex. Unless sex- and ethnicity-specific cut-offs are applied, the use of BMI-as using conventional cut-offs will overestimate the prevalence of underweight in these populations.


BACKGROUND
HelpAge International.
de Lucia
E
E
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Public Health Nutrition Unit, London, UK.
Lemma
F
F
Tesfaye
F
F
Demisse
T
T
Ismail
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D001132:Arm / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005002:Ethiopia; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012015:Reference Standards; D012727:Sex Characteristics