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Proportionality indices, geographic altitude, and gestational age in newborns from Jujuy, Argentina
Author(s) -
Martínez Jorge I.,
Revollo Gabriela B.,
Alfaro Emma L.,
Grandi Carlos,
Dipierri José E.
Publication year - 2020
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.23454
Subject(s) - percentile , altitude (triangle) , demography , body mass index , gestational age , medicine , birth weight , hum , effects of high altitude on humans , anthropometry , christian ministry , statistics , pregnancy , biology , mathematics , geometry , sociology , genetics , art , philosophy , theology , anatomy , performance art , art history
Background There are several different proportionality indices (PRIs) to evaluate size at birth by gestational age (GA). Yet, the explanatory power of alternative PRIs has not been evaluated in highland (HL) populations. Aim Evaluate the relative utility of three PRIs, weight to length ratio (W/L), body mass index (BMI), and ponderal index (PI), for assessing nutritional status in newborns (NBs) from highland (HL ≥ 2000 m) and lowland (LL < 2000 m) regions of the Jujuy Province of Argentina. Subjects and methods Births were registered by the Ministry of Health (Jujuy, 2009‐2014). Data were grouped according to HL and LL altitude groups based on of maternal residence. The main outcome measures were the PRIs W/L ratio, BMI, and PI. Percentiles were generated by the LMS method and compared with references. ANOVAs and Pearson correlations were used to examine the relationship between outcome measures with weight and length by altitude, sex, and GA. Results In both altitude zones, W/L and BMI increased with GA, while PI stabilized between 37th and 42th weeks. The LL sample had significantly higher values for all the PRIs from the 37th week of GA. In the HL sample, the 50th percentiles for all three PRIs were lower than the reference. Regardless of GA and altitude level, BMI showed the lowest correlation with length and the higher with the weight. Conclusion The HL sample of term NBs had lower values for all PRIs compared to their LL counterparts. In both altitude zones, the BMI is the preferred PRI to evaluate the nutritional status.