Mid upper arm circumference as a predictor of risk of mortality in children in a low resource setting in India

ObjectiveIn this secondary analysis of data from an intervention trial, we assessed the performance of Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) as a predictor of mortality in children aged 6–59 months from Delhi, India, one year after their initial MUAC measurements were taken. Additionally, we assessed MUAC as an absolute value and MUAC z-scores as predictors of risk of mortality.MethodsIn the trial, children were screened using MUAC prior to referral to the study clinic. These children were revisited a year later to ascertain their vital status. Baseline MUAC and MUAC z-scores were used to categorize children as severely (MUAC ResultsIn the resurvey, the first 36159 children of the 48635 in the initial survey were contacted. Of these, vital status of 34060 (94.2%) was available. The proportion of severe malnutrition by MUAC (ConclusionsMUAC is a significant predictor of subsequent mortality in under-five children. In settings where height measurement is not feasible, MUAC can be used as a screening tool for identifying severely malnourished children for management.