Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To establish reference growth charts for Saudi children and adolescents.
METHODS: Multi-stage probability sampling of a cross-section of Saudi children and adolescents residing in all 13 regions of the Kingdom. Family interviews, and physical examinations of children and adolescents from birth to 19 years of age were conducted over a 2-year period (2004-2005). Only healthy children and adolescents were included for the measurement of length/stature, weight, and head circumference. All measurements were performed by trained physicians and nurses according to World Health Organization guidelines. Percentile construction and smoothing were performed using the LMS (lambda, mu, sigma) methodology.
RESULTS: Determination of the standard measures for normal physical growth in a sample representing healthy Saudi children and adolescents from birth to 19 years of age.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study present the most comprehensive and up-to-date reference growth charts for Saudi children and adolescents. Therefore, the authors recommend the use of these charts to replace older charts or those belonging to other countries.
- Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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