Determining an optimal case definition using mid-upper arm circumference with or without weight for age to identify childhood wasting in the Philippines.

ABSTRACT: In resource-limited areas, where accurate weight-for-height Z-scores are hard to obtain, Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) is a simple tool to identify wasted children. MUAC alone, however, may miss identification of many wasted children, leading to untimely intervention and potentially death. Our study aimed to identify the best-performing case definition to detect wasting by Weight-for-Height z-scores (WHZ) in Filipino children aged 6-59 months. We analyzed the 2018-2019 Expanded National Nutrition Survey to assess the diagnostic performance of MUAC cutoffs and a case definition combining MUAC and weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) in identifying moderate and severe wasting compared to the WHZ criterion. The optimal cutoff and case definition was identified as having the highest area under th

SUBMITTER: Casas LDD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11676897 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature