Variation of arm span in the elderly and using this measurement as alternative to body height

Year 2023, Volume: 13 Issue: 1, 15 - 25, 25.09.2023

Ali Rıza Can İzzet Duyar

Abstract

As a result of loss of bone tissue due to anatomical changes and the effect of osteoporosis and osteopenia, body height becomes shorter in the aging period. Decreasing of body height in the aging period brings along the problem that the Body Mass Index (BMI) cannot be calculated correctly. In order to use it instead of length, the arm span will be examined in this study. In this direction, primarily, the change of arm span in the elderly during the aging period will be evaluated. Anthropometric measurements of height, arm span, half-arm span and arm length were taken from a total of 325 people, 154 women and 171 men, aged between 65 and 90 years. According to the results of correlation and regression analysis, it is seen that the greatest change occurred in height (r=0.227; AdjR2=0.048). The amount of change in arm span (r=0.158; AdjR2=0.022) reveals that this variable cannot be an alternative variable to height. The small amount of change in arm length in the aging period revealed that this variable can be used as an alternative measure for body height (r=0.059; AdjR2=0.000).

Keywords

Body height, body mass index, arm span, aging, anthropometry

Supporting Institution

Istanbul University-Scientific Research Projects Coordination

Project Number

33806

References

• Allen SC. (1989) The relation between height, armspan and forced expiratory volume in elderly women. Age Ageing 18(2):113-116.
• Atamtürk D. (2010) Orta ve ileri yaştaki bireylerin antropometrik ölçülerinde yaşa bağlı olarak meydana gelen değişimler. Geriatri ve Geriatrik Nöropsikiyatri 1(3):13-22.
• Baumgartner R N, Stauber PM, McHugh D, Koehler KM, Garry PJ. (1995) Cross-sectional age differences in body composition in persons 60+ years of age. J Gerontol: Biol Sci Med Sci 50(6):307-316.
• Can AR. (2021) Yaşlı bireylerde boy uzunluğunun kısalmasına bağlı olarak beden kitle indeksinin hesaplanamsında ortaya çıkan sapmaların giderilmesine yönelik antropometrik bir araştırma. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Istanbul Üniversity, Turkey.
• Chhabra SK. (2008) Using arm span to derive height: impact of three estimates of height on interpretation of spirometry. Ann Thorac Med 3(3):94-99.
• Chumlea WC, Roche AF, Steinbaugh ML. (1985) Estimating stature from knee height for persons 60 to 90 years of age. J Am Geriatr Soc 33(2):116-120.
• Chumlea WC, Garry PJ, Hunt WC, Rhyne RL. (1988) Distributions of serial changes in stature and weight in a healthy elderly population. Hum Biol 60(6):917-925.
• Cline MG, Meredith KE, Boyer JT, Burrows B. (1989) Decline of height with age in adults in a general population sample: estimating maximum height and distinguishing birth cohort effects from actual loss of stature with aging. Hum Biol 61(3):415-425.
• Cockram DB, Baumgartner RN. (1990) Evaluation of accuracy and reliability of callipers for measuring recumbent knee height in elderly people. Am J Clin Nutr 52(2):397-400.
• Coqueiro R, Barbosa AR, Borgatto AF. (2009) Anthropometric measurements in the elderly of Havana, Cuba: Age and sex differences. Nutrition 25(1):33-39.
• DeQueker JV, Baeyens JP, Claessens J. (1969) The significance of stature as a clinical measurement of ageing. J Am Geriat Soc 17(2):169-179.
• Dey, DK, Rothenberg E, Sundh V, Bosaeus I, Steen B. (1999) Height and body weight in the elderly. I. A 25-year longitudinal study of a population aged 70 to 95 years. Eur J Clin Nutr 53(12):905-914.
• Donini LM, De Felice MR, De Bernardini L, Ferrari G, Rosano A, De Medici M, Cannella C. (2000) Prediction of stature in the Italian elderly. J Nutr Health Aging 4(2):72-76.
• Duyar İ. (2000) Antropometri Ders Notları. Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Antropoloji Bölümü.
• Fogal AS, Franceschini SDCC, Priore SE, Cotta RMM, Ribeiro AQ. (2015) Stature estimation using the knee height measurement amongst Brazilian elderly. Nutr Hosp 31(2):829-834.
• Friedlaender JS, Costa Jr PT, Bosse R, Ellis E, Rhoads JG, Stoudt HW. (1977) Longitudinal physique changes among healthy white veterans at Boston. Hum Biol 49(4):541-558.
• Golshan M, Amra B, Hoghoghi MA. (2003) Is arm span an accurate measure of height to predict pulmonary function parameters? Monaldi Archr Chest Dis 59(3):189-192.
• Hall DM, Cole TJ. (2006) What use is the BMI? Arch Dis Child 91(4):283-286.
• Hickson M, Frost G. (2003) A comparison of three methods for estimating height in the acutely ill elderly population. J Hum Nutr Diet 16(1):13-20.
• Knous BL, Arisawa, M. (2002) Estimation of height in elderly Japanese using region‐specific knee height equations. Am J Hum Biol 14(3):300-307.
• Kwok T, Whitelaw MN. (1991) The use of armspan in nutritional assessment of the elderly. J Am Geriatr Soc 39(5):492-496.
• McPherson JR, Lancaster DR, Carroll JC. (1978) Stature change with aging in black Americans. J Gerontol 33(1):20-25.
• Miall WE, Ashcroft MT, Lovell HG, Moore F. (1967) A longitudinal study of the decline of adult height with age in two Welsh communities. Hum Biol 39(4):445-454.
• Mitchell CO, Lipschitz DA. (1982) Arm length measurement as an alternative to height in nutritional assessment of the elderly. J Parenter Enteral Nutr 6(3):226-229.
• Mohanty SP, Babu SS, Nair NS. (2001) The use of arm span as a predictor of height: a study of South Indian women. J Orthop Surg 9(1):19-23.
• Myers SA, Takiguchi S, Yu M. (1994) Stature estimated from knee height in elderly Japanese Americans. J Am Geriatr Soc 42(2):157-160.
• Nygaard HA. (2008) Measuring body mass index (BMI) in nursing home residents: the usefulness of measurement of arm span. Scand J Prim Health Care 26(1):46-49.
• Omran ML, Morley JE. (2000) Assessment of protein energy malnutrition in older persons, part I: history, examination, body composition, and screening tools. Nutrition 16(1):50-63.
• Palloni A, Guend A. (2005) Stature prediction equations for elderly Hispanics in Latin American countries by sex and ethnic background. J Gerontol: Biol Sci Med Sci 60(6):804-810.
• Pelin İC, Duyar, İ. (2003) Estimating stature from tibia length: a comparison of methods. J Forensic Sci 48(4):708-712.
• Pini R, Tonon E, Cavallini MC, Bencini F, Di Bari M, Masotti G, Marchionni N. (2001) Accuracy of equations for predicting stature from knee height, and assessment of statural loss in an older Italian population. J Gerontol: Biol Sci Med Sc 56(1):B3-B7.
• Popovic S. (2018) Arm-span measurement as an alternative estimation of true height in Montenegrin young adults of both sexes: A national survey. Anthropol Noteb 24(1):63-67.
• Quanjer PH, Capderou A, Mazicioglu MM, Aggarwal AN, Banik SD, Popovic S, Zelter M. (2014) All-age relationship between arm span and height in different ethnic groups. Eur Respir J 44(4):905-912.
• Roubenoff R, Wilson PW. (1993) Advantage of knee height over height as an index of stature in expression of body composition in adults. Am J Clin Nutr 57(5):609-613.
• Santos JL, Albala C, Lera L, Garcia C, Arroyo P, Pérez-Bravo F, Angel B, Peláez M. (2004) Anthropometric measurements in the elderly population of Santiago, Chile. Nutrition 20(5):452-457.
• Shahar S, Pooy NS. (2003) Predictive equations for estimation of stature in Malaysian elderly people. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 12(1):80-84.
• Sethi HK, Sidhu LS, Singal P. (1995) Estimates of aging and secular changes using total arm length. Am J Hum Biol 7(3):363-368.
• Uzun Ö, Yeginoglu G, Ertemoğlu Öksüz C, Kalkışım Ş, Zihni N (2018). Stature estimation utilising arm span measurements in Turkish adults. J Clin Diagnostic Res 12:6-10.
• Weinbrenner T, Vioque J, Barber X, Asensio L. (2006) Estimation of height and body mass index from demi-span in elderly individuals. Gerontology 52(5):275-281.
• Zhang H, Hsu-Hage BH, Wahlqvist ML. (1998) The use of knee height to estimate maximum stature in elderly Chinese. J Nutr Health Aging 2(2):84-87.