Ngoh H J, Sakinah H, Harsa Amylia M S
Dietetics Programme, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia.
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia.
Malays J Nutr. 2012 Aug;18(2):149-59.
This study aimed to develop demi-span equations for predicting height in the Malaysian elderly and to explore the applicability of previous published demi-span equations derived from adult populations to the elderly.
A cross-sectional study was conducted on Malaysian elderly aged 60 years and older. Subjects were residents of eight shelter homes in Peninsular Malaysia; 204 men and 124 women of Malay, Chinese and Indian ethnicity were included. Measurements of weight, height and demi-span were obtained using standard procedures. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 18.0.
The demi-span equations obtained were as follows: Men: Height (cm) = 67.51 + (1.29 x demi-span) - (0.12 x age) + 4.13; Women: Height (cm) = 67.51 + (1.29 x demi-span) - (0.12 x age). Height predicted from these new equations demonstrated good agreement with measured height and no significant differences were found between the mean values of predicted and measured heights in either gender (p>0.05). However, the heights predicted from previous published adult-derived demi-span equations failed to yield good agreement with the measured height of the elderly; significant over-estimation and underestimation of heights tended to occur (p>0.05).
The new demi-span equations allow prediction of height with sufficient accuracy in the Malaysian elderly. However, further validation on other elderly samples is needed. Also, we recommend caution when using adult-derived demi-span equations to predict height in elderly people.
本研究旨在开发用于预测马来西亚老年人身高的半臂长方程，并探讨先前发表的源自成年人群的半臂长方程对老年人的适用性。
对60岁及以上的马来西亚老年人进行了一项横断面研究。研究对象是马来西亚半岛八所养老院的居民；纳入了204名男性和124名女性，涵盖马来族、华族和印度族。使用标准程序测量体重、身高和半臂长。使用SPSS 18.0版进行统计分析。
得到的半臂长方程如下：男性：身高（厘米）=67.51 +（1.29×半臂长）-（0.12×年龄）+ 4.13；女性：身高（厘米）=67.51 +（1.29×半臂长）-（0.12×年龄）。根据这些新方程预测的身高与测量身高显示出良好的一致性，并且在任何性别中预测身高和测量身高的平均值之间均未发现显著差异（p>0.05）。然而，先前发表的源自成年人的半臂长方程预测的身高与老年人的测量身高未能达成良好的一致性；往往会出现显著的高估和低估（p>0.05）。
新的半臂长方程能够在马来西亚老年人中以足够的准确性预测身高。然而，需要对其他老年样本进行进一步验证。此外，我们建议在使用源自成年人的半臂长方程预测老年人身高时要谨慎。
