Ulna length to predict height in English and Portuguese patient populations

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 66; no. 2; pp. 209 - 215
• Main Authors: Barbosa, V M, Stratton, R J, Lafuente, E, Elia, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.02.2012; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Anatomy & physiology; Anthropometry - methods; Arms; Biological and medical sciences; Body Height; Body Mass Index; Body size; Body weight; Bones; Child development; Clinical Nutrition; Critical Illness; England; Epidemiology; Error analysis; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Height; Hospitalization; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; original-article; Patients; Population studies; Populations; Portugal; Public Health; Reference Values; Regression coefficients; Respiration, Artificial; Standard error; Tidal Volume; Ulna; Ulna - anatomy & histology; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; England; Portugal; United Kingdom; tidal volume; ulna length; critical illness; MUST; height; BMI; Human; Prediction; Metabolic diseases; Corporal biometry; Body mass index; Length; Volume; Body size; Height
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2011.177

Background/Objective: This study assessed the extent to which ulna length could be used to predict height and body mass index (BMI) in various groups of English and Portuguese hospitalised patients, and tidal volumes in critically ill patients at risk of requiring ventilatory support. Subjects/Methods: Bedside measurements of weight, height and ulna length were made in 507 patients (432 English, 75 Portuguese; 264 men, 243 women) with a mean age of 61.8±18.9 years, height 165.1±9.5 cm and BMI 26.7±5.43 kg/m 2 . Results: Ulna length could be measured with ease in all subjects. The intra-observer technical error of measurement in the same subjects was 1%. Within each category of men and women aged <65 years and 65 years and over, there was no significant difference between the English and Portuguese in the intercept or regression coefficients for the ulna–height relationships. A strong relationship was found between predicted and measured height ( r =0.963, standard error of the estimate 4.6 cm). The overall mean and s.d. of the difference was 0.3±2.7% of height, with no significant difference between English and Portuguese populations. The discrepancy between measured and predicted BMI corresponded to 0.7±5.5% (s.d.) (all subjects) and for ventilatory volumes predicted from height (critically ill subjects only) 0.7±7.1%. Conclusion: Height can be predicted from ulna length with precision and ease in a wide range of patient groups, and without the need to use different equations in English and Portuguese populations. The predicted measurements are acceptable in most clinical circumstances.