Michelle Minson
Biology lab 1610-028
Journal Article Summary
11/2/13
Anthropometric determinants of low birth weight in newborns
of Hoshiarpur district (Punjab) – A hospital based study
Introduction
Throughout history birth weight has been a very good indicator of the future health of the
population. In this article Hardeep Kaur and Rupinder Bansal conducted research in hopes of
finding a body measurement that would aid in identifying low birth weight (LBW) babies. A
baby is considered to have LBW if they weigh less than 2.5 kg at birth. According to the article,
“Prevention of LBW is an issue of public health importance.” (Kaur, H. et al, 2012), it is an
important factor in the future health of infants. This topic is of value because identifying LBW
babies at birth can help to ensure their future health and survival. In the past LBW babies have
had higher infant mortality rates, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, vision and hearing problems,
and developmental delays. By conducting this research Kaur and Bansal are trying to determine
if there is a single measurement or measurements that can best identify LBW babies. They
hypothesized that there is a measurement that can identify LBW babies, and they endeavored to
find out which measurement would be the best one to go by, as well as what the cutoff points for
this measurement would be.
Materials and Methods
They began by identifying 504 pregnant women who they followed until their delivery.
Within 48 hours after birth they took measurements of the newborns’ length, head, chest, midarm, abdomen, and thigh circumference, subscapular, biceps, triceps, thigh and calf skinfold
thickness. These measurements were obtained using an inelastic tape measurer. They also took
the weight of the newborns, using a digital weighing scale, to verify whether they were in the
LBW category.
Results
After collecting all of their data it was determined that there was, in fact, a measurement
that proved to be a good predictor of LBW, “From point of view of predicting positive low birth
cases, mid arm circumference (100.00%) emerged as the best surrogate.” (H. Kaur et al, 2012).
They found that chest circumference was the next best indicator with a rate of 90.48%
dependability. The surprising thing they found was that in their research a rate of 20.23% of
LBW babies were identified as opposed to the 30% (for India) rate reported by the United
Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). They identified reasons why their numbers would be so
different from those reported by UNICEF such as: their study excluded multiple births, babies
born prematurely, mothers with conditions that generally produce LBW babies such as HIV, as
well as mothers with diabetes (which generally produces larger than average babies),
hypertension, heart disease, severe anemia, thyroid disease, and syphilis.
Discussion
After conducting their research and gathering all of the data they decided that the
information they found supported their hypothesis and helped them determine that there is a
measurement that can identify LBW, just as they were trying to discover. They concluded that
mid arm circumference measurement is a good way to identify LBW babies at birth so that they
can receive the medical attention they need in order to ensure their best chances of survival and a
healthy future.
While this study will certainly give good information to aid in identifying LBW babies it
was limited by the fact that it was conducted in India, and only used babies born there to mothers
who were native to the country. It may not prove to be as useful in other parts of the world where
LBW babies may be determined by different measurements. Further research in other parts of the
world will need to be conducted in order to determine whether their findings in India apply
throughout the world.
Bibliography
Hardeep, K., and Bansal, R. (2012). Anthropometric determinants of low birth weight in newborns of
Hosiarpur district (Punjab) - A hospital based study. Human Biology Review, 376-386.