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Reference ranges for knee height in Argentine children and adolescents aged 2 to 18 years
Author(s) -
Ruiz Brunner Maria M.,
Cuestas Eloisa,
Cieri Maria E.,
Cuestas Eduardo
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.23366
Subject(s) - percentile , anthropometry , reference values , demography , medicine , linear regression , body height , proxy (statistics) , age groups , statistics , mathematics , body weight , endocrinology , sociology
Objectives Measurement of height is essential in the anthropometric assessment of growth and nutritional status. In some conditions, height measurement may be difficult or impossible. Proxy measurement such as knee height (KH) have been proposed to predict stature in such cases, but reference percentile ranges and charts for healthy, well‐nourished children are currently unavailable. This study was designed to develop sex‐specific KH reference percentile ranges and charts in Argentine children ranging from 2 to 18 years of age. Methods We collected and analyzed cross‐sectional data for KH from 861 Argentine children and adolescents aged 2 to 18 years. Generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape were used to calculate semiparametric smoothed percentile reference ranges, and charts by age and sex. Linear regression and correlation analyses were performed to know the association between KH and height. Results The new reference ranges show that KH growth rose sharply until puberty. Peak KH velocity occurs 1 year earlier than peak height velocity. At puberty KH growth decelerated rapidly in females and increased slightly until 15 years and plateaued at this age, while it had a more gradual deceleration in males up to 11 years old, later increased slightly until 17 years and plateaued at this age. The correlation coefficient between height and KH was r = 0.98 for both sexes ( p < .001). Conclusions The new reference percentile ranges for KH measures for healthy children and adolescents provide a useful growth and nutritional assessment tool in a wide variety of settings. KH has a strong agreement with stature.