REFERENCE CHARTS FOR ARM, CHEST AND HEAD CIRCUMFERENCES OF SOUTH IRANIAN INFANTS

The reference charts for mid upper arm (MUAC), chest (CHC) and head (HC) circumferences of a cohort of 317 healthy infants (153 boys and 164 girls) born in Shiraz (Southern Iran) and monitored from birth for 2 years are presented. Centiles for MUAC and HC lie below the Netherlands and US subjects respectively. However, there is no suggestion of ill health for Iranian subjects. The use of locally based MUAC, HC, and CHC charts are essential for clinical work in Iran. Operational simplicity and measurement validity and accuracy suggest that monitoring these measurements should be performed both by health workers in the Iran primary health care system and by mothers for preventive measures as well as child health promotion and development. The paper concludes that the charts presented here are likely to be applied to the urban infant population of Iran due to its structural representativeness and sophisticated methodology.