Abstract
Background and Objective: There should be one comprehensive measure or index which can represent the overall prevalence of under-nutrition of all three forms (underweight, wasting and stunting). Composite index of anthropometric failure is one such indicator, proposed by Svedberg. Three new indices namely UI, WI and SI has also been proposed and used. The advantage of use of MUAC is its simplicity. Weech’s formula is an age old formula used by clinicians to identify undernourished children. Material and methods: The study included 171 children under the age of five years, who were referred from the anganwadis of Dakshina Kannada region during the period of January-March 2012. The proportion of underweight, wasting and stunting were calculated according to the new child growth standard of the WHO. CIAF, UI, WI and SI were calculated. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive value and likelihood ratios were calculated for MUAC and Weech’s formula. Results: 58.4% children belonged to category “D” of CIAF. Weech’s formula’s sensitivity in detecting underweight and stunted children was 100% and 96% respectively. Conclusion: Use of CIAF, UI, WI and SI is recommended to present the overall picture of undernutrition among under-five children. Weech’s formula is a sensitive and specific tool to identify to undernourished children.
Highlights
ICDS (Integrated child development services) scheme represents one of the largest and most unique programs for early childhood development in India today
Most of the anthropometric indicators require use of reference tables, which may not be practically feasible in field studies
Weech’s formula is an age old formula used by clinicians to identify under-nourished children8
Summary
ICDS (Integrated child development services) scheme represents one of the largest and most unique programs for early childhood development in India today. As per the new WHO growth standards the prevalence of three important indicators of undernutrition namely underweight (low weight for age), wasting (low weight for height) and stunting (low height for age) among under-five children in India is 43%, 20% and 48% respectively. The corresponding figures for the world, with the use of same assessment parameters are 16%, 10 % and 27% respectively 2 These three indicators overlap – i.e. a child who is underweight, may be wasted and stunted and other similar combinations of these indicators of under-nutrition are possible. CIAF is an useful composite measure, it fails to highlight the individual contribution and importance of underweight, wasting and stunting relative to the overall prevalence of undernutrition 5. An ideal anthropometric indicator should have a high sensitivity to detect under-nutrition correctly, and high specificity so that government
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