Abstract
Objective : This study was done to report the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) pattern in children aged 2-5 years in Jos. Study Population and Methods : Data was collected in May 2002 and permission was granted for this study to be carried out. Children were selected from both groups of sexes (males and females). A tape measure was used; this is strictly speaking, a Population Study so every child aged five years and below was recruited in this study. 173 pupils (89males and 84females) had MUAC measurements taken. Results :The Mean (±SEM) MUAC by age distribution: 15.8 ± 0.68 cm and 16 ± 0 cm for males and females 2 year old respectively (p th percentile) and 18cm (95 th percentile), while for females 14.4cm and 17.6cm represented 5 th percentile for 3 year olds and 95 th percentile for 5 year olds respectively. Conclusion : In this study, the mean MUAC values of the age groups varied between 15.8 ± 0.68cm and 17.4 ± 0.84 cm, while 5 th to 95 th percentile values ranged between 14.4cm to 18cm across both sexes. The lowest mean and percentile values of MUAC for both males and females are higher than 13cm. Therefore an upward review of cut off points for MUAC should be considered in future. Keywords : school children, mid upper arm circumference (muac), percentiles, fixed cut-off points Highland Medical Research Journal Vol. 3(2) 2005: 121-127
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