Weinbrenner Tanja, Vioque Jesús, Barber Xavier, Asensio Laura
Departamento Salud Pública, Historia de la Ciencia y Ginecología, Universidad Miguel Hernández Elche-Alicante, Alicante, España.
Gerontology. 2006;52(5):275-81. doi: 10.1159/000094608.
Obtaining accurate height and, consequently, body mass index (BMI) measurements in elderly subjects can be difficult due to changes in posture and loss of height during ageing. Measurements of other body segments can be used as an alternative to estimate standing height, but population- and age-specific equations are necessary.
Our objectives were to validate existing equations, to develop new simple equations to predict height in an elderly Spanish population and to assess the accuracy of the BMI calculated by estimated height from the new equations.
We measured height and demi-span in a representative sample of 592 individuals, 271 men and 321 women, 65 years and older (mean +/- SD, 73.8 +/- 6.3 years). We suggested equations to predict height from demi-span by multiple regression analyses and performed an agreement analysis between measured and estimated indices.
Height estimated from demi-span correlated significantly (p < 0.001) with measured height (men: r = 0.708, women: r = 0.625). The best prediction equations were as follows: men, height (in cm) = 77.821 + (1.132 x demi-span in cm) + (-0.215 x 5-year age category); women: height (in cm) = 88.854 + (0.899 x demi-span in cm) + (-0.692 x 5-year age category). No significant differences between the mean values of estimated and measured heights were found for men (-0.03 +/- 4.6 cm) or women (-0.02 +/- 4.1 cm). The BMI derived from measured height did not differ significantly from the BMI derived from estimated height either.
Predicted height values from equations based on demi-span and age may be acceptable surrogates to derive accurate nutritional indices such as the BMI, particularly in elderly populations, where height may be difficult to measure accurately.
由于衰老过程中姿势的改变和身高的降低，在老年受试者中获得准确的身高以及相应的体重指数（BMI）测量值可能会很困难。测量身体其他部位可作为估计站立身高的替代方法，但需要针对特定人群和年龄的公式。
我们的目标是验证现有公式，开发新的简单公式来预测西班牙老年人群的身高，并评估根据新公式估算的身高计算出的BMI的准确性。
我们测量了592名65岁及以上（平均±标准差，73.8±6.3岁）个体（271名男性和321名女性）的代表性样本的身高和半臂展。我们通过多元回归分析提出了根据半臂展预测身高的公式，并对测量指标和估算指标进行了一致性分析。
根据半臂展估算的身高与测量身高显著相关（p<0.001）（男性：r = 0.708，女性：r = 0.625）。最佳预测公式如下：男性，身高（厘米）= 77.821 +（1.132×半臂展厘米数）+（-0.215×5岁年龄组）；女性：身高（厘米）= 88.854 +（0.899×半臂展厘米数）+（-0.692×5岁年龄组）。男性（-0.03±4.6厘米）或女性（-0.02±4.1厘米）的估算身高和测量身高的平均值之间未发现显著差异。根据测量身高得出的BMI与根据估算身高得出的BMI也没有显著差异。
基于半臂展和年龄的公式预测的身高值可能是得出准确营养指标（如BMI）的可接受替代指标，特别是在难以准确测量身高的老年人群中。
