Anthropometry of the trunk and extremities in nutritional assessment of children with chronic renal failure.
OBJECTIVE
Comparison of anthropometric parameters of the trunk and extremities between 2 groups of children with chronic renal failure (CRF) with different levels of nutritional status and healthy controls.


DESIGN
A prospective cross-sectional study.


SETTINGS
Department of Physiology and Anthropology, University Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje.


PATIENTS
Twenty-one patients with a mean age of 10.5 +/- 3.2 years (10 boys and 11 girls) with mild to moderate CRF were divided into well-nourished (chronic renal failure children [CRFC] I) and undernourished (CRFC II) children according to their nutritional status. The control group was 22 healthy children with a mean age of 10.7 +/- 3.8 years (10 boys and 12 girls). Nutritional status of the children was assessed by comparing anthropometric parameters with National Center for Health Statistics references.


INTERVENTIONS
Anthropometry.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS
Body weight, height, sitting height, arm and leg length, knee height, chest circumference, midarm circumference, triceps skin-fold thickness, and upper arm muscle and fat area.


RESULTS
Mean sitting height, leg length, and chest circumference were significantly lower in both the CRFC I group (67.8 +/- 3.5, 57.5 +/- 4.2, and 53.0 +/- 3.9 cm) and the CRFC II group (65.6 +/- 2.2, 56.1 +/- 4.1, and 50.6 +/- 2.7 cm) compared with the healthy controls (72.5 +/- 2.9, 61.3 +/- 3.5, and 62.4 +/- 4.1 cm, respectively). The highest significant correlations to height were for sitting height (r = +0.82, P <.05) and knee height (r = +0.72, P <.05) in CRFC I and for leg length (r = +0.74, P <.05) in CRFC II. There was no correlation between anthropometric parameters of the trunk and extremities and upper muscle and fat area in both groups of CRF children.


CONCLUSION
The sitting height, knee height, and leg length can be used in nutritional and growth assessment when it is impossible to make a reliable measurement of height in CRF children.