Model for Prediction of the Weight and Height Measurements of Patients with Disabilities for Diagnosis and Therapy

Abstract

Background: Accurate measurement of a patient’s height and weight is an essential part of diagnosis and therapy, but there is some controversy as to how to calculate the height and weight of patients with disabilities. Objective: This study aims to use anthropometric measurements (arm span, length of leg, chest circumference, and waist circumference) to find a model (alternatives) that can allow the calculation of the height and the body weight of patients with disabilities. Additionally, a model for the prediction of weight and height measurements of patients with disabilities was established. Method: Four hander patients aged 20-80 years were enrolled in this study and divided into two groups, 210 (52.5%) male and 190 (47.5%) female. Result: A significant correlation was noted between body height and arm span, as well as between body height and length of leg in all study groups. The body weight and the ratio of arm span or leg length to the sum of chest and waist circumferences were found to have a negative significant correlation. Model equations were derived to estimate the height and body weight according to anthropometric measurements. Conclusion: Anthropometric measurements can be used to create a model for calculating the body height and body weight of patients with disabilities and which can be considered an alternative to measurements that can be made on otherwise healthy subjects.

Keywords

• therapy
• diagnosis
• anthropometric measurements
• iraq