These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: The use of calf circumference measurement as an anthropometric tool to monitor nutritional status in elderly inpatients.
    Author: Portero-McLellan KC, Staudt C, Silva FR, Delbue Bernardi JL, Baston Frenhani P, Leandro Mehri VA.
    Journal: J Nutr Health Aging; 2010 Apr; 14(4):266-70. PubMed ID: 20305992.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify the nutritional status of hospitalized elderly and verify if calf circumference can be a tool to monitor nutritional status in this population. METHODS: A total of 170 inpatients (79 men and 91 women) aged more than 60 years were assessed. Anthropometric and dietary assessments were done according to standard procedures. The software STATISTICA 6.0 was used for the statistical analysis. The confidence interval was set at 95% and significance level at 5% (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Body mass index assessment revealed a high rate of underweight patients (45.3%), and arm circumference and triceps skinfold revealed a high prevalence of depletion. Males had more lean mass according to the mid-arm muscle circumference (p=0.017) and mid-arm muscle area (p=0.01), and females presented higher triceps skinfold values (p < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between calf circumference and Body Mass Index (p < 0.001), arm circumference (p=0.001), triceps skinfold (p=0.001), mid-arm muscle circumference (p=0.001), and mid-arm muscle area (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: This study found a positive correlation between calf circumference and nutritional status of assessed patients indicating that this measurement can be used as a complementary tool for monitoring the nutritional status of elderly inpatients.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]