Comparison between body mass index and mid upper arm circumference for classifying nutritional status of pregnant women: a prospective cohort study

Authors

  • Ekta Chhillar Lady Hardinge Medical College, C-604 Connaught Circus, DIZ Area, Connaught Place, New Delhi, India
  • Manju Puri Department of Obstetric and Gynaecology, Lady Hardinge Medical College, C-604 Connaught Circus, DIZ Area, Connaught Place, New Delhi, India
  • Rajesh Kumar Sinha National Centre of Excellence for management of Severe Acute Malnutrition (NCoE-SAM), Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital, C-604 Connaught Circus, DIZ Area, Connaught Place, New Delhi, India
  • Praveen Kumar Department of Paediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College and associated Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital C-604 Connaught Circus, DIZ Area, Connaught Place, New Delhi, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20211748

Keywords:

BMI, MUAC, Pregnant women, Malnutrition

Abstract

Background: BMI is used to assess nutritional status of pregnant women however weight gain during pregnancy confounds the nutritional status later in pregnancy. Unlike weight, MUAC does not undergo significant change as the pregnancy advances. We aim to compare the changes in BMI and MUAC in pregnant women over various trimesters to assess whether change in MUAC is less compared to weight.

Methods: In this prospective observations study, BMI and MUAC measurements were taken of 300 pregnant women during different trimesters. Chi-square tests were conducted to assess associations between socio-demographic indicators and nutritional status. Correlation coefficients were calculated between BMI and MUAC over three trimesters. ANOVA tests were conducted on BMI and MUAC to assess their respective mean differences over three trimesters.

Results: Mean difference of 0.43 cm (3.2%) was noted in MUAC compared to 5.32 kg/m2 (23.14%) in BMI from first to third trimester. No significant differences were observed in mean MUACs between first and second (p=0.326) and second and third trimesters (p=0.143) but, it was significantly different between first and third trimesters (p=0.003). Significant differences were observed in mean BMIs between first and second (p=0.05), second and third (p<0.001) and first and third trimesters (p<0.001). Correlation between BMI and MUAC were positive and significant in all three trimesters.

Conclusions: Positive correlations were found between BMI and MUAC. Less change was observed in MUAC than BMI over three trimesters. MUAC seems to be a reliable tool for assessing nutritional status of antenatal women.

 

 

References

Victora CG, Adair L, Fall C, Hallal PC, Martorell R, Richter L et al. Maternal and Child Undernutrition Study Group. Maternal and child undernutrition: consequences for adult health and human capital. The Lancet. 2008; 371(9609):340-57.

International Institute of Population Sciences, Ministry of Health and Family welfare National Family and Health Survey-4. Government of India. 2015-16. Available at: http:/rchiips.org/MFHS/pdf/ NFHS4/India.pdf. Accessed on 20th December, 2020.

Whitaker RC. Predicting pre-schooler obesity at birth: the role of maternal obesity in early pregnancy. Paediatrics. 2004;114(1):e29-36.

Anuurad E, Shiwaku K, Nogi A. The new BMI criteria for asians by the regional office for the western pacific region of WHO are suitable for screening of overweight to prevent metabolic syndrome in elder Japanese workers. Journal of occupational health. 2003;45(6):335-43.

https://health.gov/our-work/food-nutrition/2015-2020-dietaryguidelines/guidelines/appendix-2/. Last accessed on 20th December, 2020.

Sharma R. Revised Kuppuswamy’s socioeconomic status scale: explained and updated. Indian Paediatrics. 2017;54(10):867-70.

Lillie M. The Use of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) as a Nutrition Indicator for Adolescents in Tanzania (Doctoral dissertation, Duke University). dukespace.lib.duke.edu. 2018.

Khadivzadeh T. Mid upper arm and calf circumferences as indicators of nutritional status in women of reproductive age. East Mediterr Health J. 2002;8(4-5):612-8.

Dasgupta A, Butt A, Saha TK. Assessment of malnutrition among adolescents: Can BMI be replaced by MUAC. Indian journal of community medicine. 2010;35(2):276.

Ricalde AE, Velásquez-Meléndez G, Tanaka AC, de Siqueira AA. Mid-upper arm circumference in pregnant women and its relation to birth weight. Revista de saude publica. 1998;32:112-7.

Okereke CE, Anyaehie UB, Dim CC, Iyare EE, Nwagha UI. Evaluation of some anthropometric indices for the diagnosis of obesity in pregnancy in Nigeria: a cross-sectional study. African health sciences. 2013;13(4):1034-40.

López LB, Calvo EB, Poy MS. Changes in skinfolds and mid‐upper arm circumference during pregnancy in Argentine women. Maternal and child nutrition. 2011;7(3):253-62.

Ververs MT, Antierens A, Sackl A. Which anthropometric Indicators identify a pregnant woman as acutely malnourished and predict adverse birth outcomes in the humanitarian context? PLoS. 2013;5.

Kumar, P., Sinha, R., Patil, N., and Kumar, V. Relationship between mid-upper arm circumference and BMI for identifying maternal wasting and severe wasting: A cross-sectional assessment. Public Health Nutrition. 2019;22(14):2548-52.

Kumar P, Sareen N, Agrawal S, Kathuria N, Yadav S, Sethi V. Screening Maternal Acute Malnutrition Using Adult Mid-Upper Arm Circumference in Resource-Poor Settings. Indian journal of community medicine: official publication of Indian Association of Prevent Social Med. 2018;43(2):132-4.

Downloads

Published

2021-04-27

How to Cite

Chhillar, E., Puri, M., Sinha, R. K., & Kumar, P. (2021). Comparison between body mass index and mid upper arm circumference for classifying nutritional status of pregnant women: a prospective cohort study. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 8(5), 2293–2298. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20211748

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles