Assessing the role of mid upper arm circumference in identification of low birthweight and wasting in early infancy in India

• Published in: Journal of paediatrics and child health Vol. 57; no. 10; pp. 1580 - 1588
• Main Authors: Seth, Bageshree, Chorghe, Jagravi, Revathi, Natesan, Setia, Maninder S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 01.10.2021; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Birth weight; diagnostic properties; Females; low birthweight; Males; Medical diagnosis; mid upper arm circumference; Pediatrics; wasting; India; mid upper arm circumference; wasting; low birthweight; diagnostic properties
• ISSN: 1034-4810; 1440-1754
• DOI: 10.1111/jpc.15537

Aim We conducted this study to examine the mid upper‐arm circumference (MUAC) of full‐term infants from birth to 6 months; construct gender‐specific MUAC graphs; and assess the role of MUAC as a surrogate marker for low birthweight and wasting in infants younger than 6 months. Methods This is a prospective longitudinal study of 268 (133 female and 135 male) new‐borns in a tertiary care centre in Navi Mumbai, India. We measured weight, length, head circumference and MUAC. We drew the MUAC curves for the first 6 months using the mean MUAC and standard deviation (SD) values and assessed the diagnostic test properties of MUAC at birth as a marker of low birthweight. Results The mean (SD) birthweight of the male and female new‐borns was 2756.2 g (368.1) and 2803.8 g (326.2), respectively (P = 0.25). The mean (SD) MUAC at birth was 8.7 (0.3) cm in males and 8.8 (0.2) cm in females, respectively (P = 0.14). The plotted mean MUAC curve in infants who were classified with wasting was between the −1SD and −2SD in both genders. The sensitivity and NPV for detecting low birthweight were 100% at cut‐off of 8.6 cm in females and 8.7 cm in males, respectively (area under the curve: 0.92 (females) and 0.96 (males)). Conclusion MUAC may be a good proxy for low birthweight at birth and the curves from our study show that it may also help in the diagnosis of wasting in infants below 6 months of age in the community, particularly in resource‐constrained settings.