title: Evaluation of mid-upper arm circumference in pre-school children: comparison between NCHS/CDC-2000 and WHO-2006 references.
abstract: We aimed to evaluate the classification of arm circumference (AC) in pre-school children by using National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS/CDC-2000) and World Health Organization (WHO-2006) references. We evaluated 205 children: weight, height and AC were assessed and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated. The BMI values were classified into Z-scores by the WHO referential. The AC was classified into Z-cores by two references, comparing the whole-sample value and among groups (tercis) of BMI Z-score. The correlation was also evaluated between differences of AC with BMI Z-score. The WHO referential classified the AC in Z-scores greater than the NCHS/CDC, which is more specific and less sensitive than the NCHS/CDC for lean children and at the same time more sensitive and less specific for children with overweight. In conclusion, a significant difference in the AC classification occurs according to the referential used.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Saúde Materno-Infantil, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Viviane G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.forename: Thais Costa
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.forename: Ciro João
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Bertoli
authors.forename: Luiz Carlos
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: de Abreu
authors.forename: Vitor E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Valenti
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leone
mesh_terms: D001132:Arm / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D049628:Body Size; D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009309:National Center for Health Statistics, U.S.; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012015:Reference Standards; D014481:United States; D014944:World Health Organization