Reliability of routine clinical measurements of neonatal circumferences and research measurements of neonatal skinfold thicknesses: findings from the Born in Bradford study
Open Access
- 24 January 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
- Vol. 25 (2), 164-171
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3016.2010.01181.x
Abstract
West J, Manchester B, Wright J, Lawlor DA, Waiblinger D. Reliability of routine clinical measurements of neonatal circumferences and research measurements of neonatal skinfold thicknesses: findings from the Born in Bradford study. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2011. Assessing neonatal size reliably is important for research and clinical practice. The aim of this study was to examine the reliability of routine clinical measurements of neonatal circumferences and of skinfold thicknesses assessed for research purposes. All measurements were undertaken on the same population of neonates born in a large maternity unit in Bradford, UK. Technical error of measurement (TEM), relative TEM and the coefficient of reliability are reported. Intra‐observer TEMs for routine circumference measurements were all below 0.4 cm and were generally within ±2‐times the mean. Inter‐observer TEM ranged from 0.20 to 0.36 cm for head circumference, 0.19 to 0.39 cm for mid upper arm circumference and from 0.39 to 0.77 cm for abdominal circumference. Intra and inter‐observer TEM for triceps skinfold thickness ranged from 0.22 to 0.35 mm and 0.15 to 0.54 mm, respectively. Subscapular skinfold thickness TEM values were 0.14 to 0.25 mm for intra‐observer measurements and 0.17 to 0.63 mm for inter‐observer measurements. Relative TEM values for routine circumferences were all below 4.00% but varied between 2.88% and 14.23% for research skinfold measurements. Reliability was mostly between 80% and 99% for routine circumference measurements and ≥70% for most research skinfold measurements. Routine clinical measurements of neonatal circumferences are reliably assessed in Bradford. Assessing skinfolds in neonates has variable reliability, but on the whole is good. The greater intra‐observer, compared with inter‐observer, reliability for both sets of measurements highlights the importance of having a minimal number of assessors whenever possible.Keywords
This publication has 15 references indexed in Scilit:
- Accuracy of height and weight data from child health recordsArchives of Disease in Childhood, 2009
- Adiposity in small for gestational age preterm infants assessed at term equivalent ageArchives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal & Neonatal, 2009
- Whole Body Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Healthy Newborn Infants Demonstrates Increased Central Adiposity in Asian IndiansPediatric Research, 2009
- The reliability of routine anthropometric data collected by health workers: A cross-sectional studyInternational Journal of Nursing Studies, 2009
- Subcutaneous fat stores related to weight in full-term neonatesAnnals of Human Biology, 2008
- Born in Bradford, a cohort study of babies born in Bradford, and their parents: Protocol for the recruitment phaseBMC Public Health, 2008
- Precision of Measurement as a Component of Human VariationJournal of Physiological Anthropology, 2007
- Reliability of anthropometric measurements in the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study.2006
- Reliability of anthropometric measurements in the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference StudyActa Paediatrica, 2006
- State of the science in measurement of infant size at birthNewborn and Infant Nursing Reviews, 2002