title: Agreement between different methods of measuring height in elderly patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The present study aimed to examine the agreement between measurements of standing height and self-reported height, height measured with a sliding caliper, and height estimated from either demispan or knee height in elderly patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-five patients (mean age 79 years) at a Swedish hospital were included in this observational study. The participants' heights were evaluated as the standing height, self-reported height, height measured in a recumbent position with a sliding caliper, and height estimated from the demispan or knee height.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The measurements made with a sliding caliper in the recumbent position agreed most closely with the standing height. Ninety-five percent of the individuals' differences from standing height were within an interval of +1.1 to -4.8 cm (limits of agreement). Self-reported height and height estimated from knee height differed relatively strongly from standing height. The limits of agreement were +5.2 to -9.8 cm and +9.4 to -6.2 cm, respectively. The widest distribution of differences was found in the height estimated from the demispan, with limits of agreements from +11.2 to -9.3 cm.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When measuring the height of patients who find it difficult to stand upright, a sliding caliper should be the method of choice, and the second choice should be self-reported height or the height estimated from knee height. Estimating height from the demispan should be the method of last resort.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Research, Uppsala University, Västmanland County Hospital, Västerås, Sweden.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Frid
authors.forename: E Thors
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Adolfsson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosenblad
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nydahl
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D001827:Body Height; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report
keywords: anthropometry; elderly; height; nutritional assessment