This study aims to evaluate the use of the United States National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) weight-for-height centiles (WHC) in screening children with cerebral palsy (CP) for depleted body fat and to identify an alternate screening method. Growth data from 276 children aged from 3 to 12 years with CP were analyzed retrospectively. Height or a proxy for height, mid-upper arm circumference, weight, and skinfold thicknesses were recorded. Mid-upper arm fat area was calculated for each participant. The sensitivities and specificities of WHC and a number of alternative anthropometric screening methods for identifying participants with severely depleted fat stores were determined. WHC <10th centile failed to identify 45\% of children with severely depleted fat stores. Triceps skinfold thickness <10th centile identified 96\% of malnourished children. WHC standards lack adequate sensitivity for identification of severely depleted fat stores in children with CP. Use of triceps skinfold thickness, using cut-off value of <10th centile for age and sex, is recommended to screen for suboptimal fat stores in children with CP.
%0 Journal Article
%1 Samson-Fang2000
%A Samson-Fang, L. J.
%A Stevenson, R. D.
%D 2000
%J Dev Med Child Neurol
%K Anthropometry; Arm; Cerebral Palsy; Child; Child, Preschool; Databases, Factual; Female; Humans; Male; Nutrition Disorders; Predictive Value of Tests; Retrospective Studies; Sensitivity and Specificity; Skinfold Thickness
%N 3
%P 162--168
%T Identification of malnutrition in children with cerebral palsy: poor performance of weight-for-height centiles.
%V 42
%X This study aims to evaluate the use of the United States National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) weight-for-height centiles (WHC) in screening children with cerebral palsy (CP) for depleted body fat and to identify an alternate screening method. Growth data from 276 children aged from 3 to 12 years with CP were analyzed retrospectively. Height or a proxy for height, mid-upper arm circumference, weight, and skinfold thicknesses were recorded. Mid-upper arm fat area was calculated for each participant. The sensitivities and specificities of WHC and a number of alternative anthropometric screening methods for identifying participants with severely depleted fat stores were determined. WHC <10th centile failed to identify 45\% of children with severely depleted fat stores. Triceps skinfold thickness <10th centile identified 96\% of malnourished children. WHC standards lack adequate sensitivity for identification of severely depleted fat stores in children with CP. Use of triceps skinfold thickness, using cut-off value of <10th centile for age and sex, is recommended to screen for suboptimal fat stores in children with CP.
@article{Samson-Fang2000,
abstract = {This study aims to evaluate the use of the United States National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) weight-for-height centiles (WHC) in screening children with cerebral palsy (CP) for depleted body fat and to identify an alternate screening method. Growth data from 276 children aged from 3 to 12 years with CP were analyzed retrospectively. Height or a proxy for height, mid-upper arm circumference, weight, and skinfold thicknesses were recorded. Mid-upper arm fat area was calculated for each participant. The sensitivities and specificities of WHC and a number of alternative anthropometric screening methods for identifying participants with severely depleted fat stores were determined. WHC <10th centile failed to identify 45\% of children with severely depleted fat stores. Triceps skinfold thickness <10th centile identified 96\% of malnourished children. WHC standards lack adequate sensitivity for identification of severely depleted fat stores in children with CP. Use of triceps skinfold thickness, using cut-off value of <10th centile for age and sex, is recommended to screen for suboptimal fat stores in children with CP.},
added-at = {2014-07-19T21:12:34.000+0200},
author = {Samson-Fang, L. J. and Stevenson, R. D.},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/26e449147639ed3a9b41f0d95107b8800/ar0berts},
groups = {public},
interhash = {85fe5cc20d6683f00836bfa4e44577fb},
intrahash = {6e449147639ed3a9b41f0d95107b8800},
journal = {Dev Med Child Neurol},
keywords = {Anthropometry; Arm; Cerebral Palsy; Child; Child, Preschool; Databases, Factual; Female; Humans; Male; Nutrition Disorders; Predictive Value of Tests; Retrospective Studies; Sensitivity and Specificity; Skinfold Thickness},
month = Mar,
number = 3,
pages = {162--168},
pmid = {10755455},
timestamp = {2014-07-19T21:12:34.000+0200},
title = {Identification of malnutrition in children with cerebral palsy: poor performance of weight-for-height centiles.},
username = {ar0berts},
volume = 42,
year = 2000
}