New reference values for mid upper arm circumference of Shiraz (Iran) primary school children

SummaryBackground & aimsMeasuring MUAC has several advantages. The measuring can be taken quickly and at little cost. It is an excellent indictor of nutritional status and is frequently used for screening purposes.MethodsNew reference values and charts for mid upper arm circumferences (MUAC) of 2237 healthy primary school children (1163 boys and 1074 girls) aged 6–12 years living in Shiraz (Iran) are presented and their relationships to our previous study carried out 15 years earlier as well as other studies explored. The data were sampled in a multistage scheme and collected through a large-scale cross-sectional growth study.ResultsThe results showed that MUAC measurements centiles of girls lied above that of boys in all age groups, which is generally significant (p = 0.006).ConclusionsComparison of our data with their peers born 15 years apart indicated that our children get longer MUAC measurements than previous study (p < 0.001), which may be attributed to the post Iran–Iraq war (1980–1988) developments. Also, as compared to Tanzania, Seychelles and Vietnam our children have enjoyed thicker MUAC measurements. However, median of MUAC of our children lie below their peers in the Netherlands and USA for both sexes. The paper, therefore, concludes that the reference values for MUAC values differ from country to country and supports local standards in this regard, which concurs with our previous study. However, it is suggested that these standards be updated every other decade.