Test: Height

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Background/Purpose

Clinically, height is necessary for maintaining physical growth records. This is especially significant when it comes to monitoring the growth patterns of infants and children. Height assessment and the growth patterns linked to it, either directly or indirectly, point towards the socioeconomic status of an individual, amongst other things. Growth indicators such as the height of the individual and hence the BMI (Body Mass Index) can help diagnose conditions such as Marasmus and Kwashiorkor in children.[1] In the case of adolescents, height assessment constitutes a part of the selection criteria for certain sports activities. A cut off height is established as the basis for selection into sports where height confers a certain leverage. Accurate height assessment becomes crucial in these cases. Professions such as firefighters, military personnel, and lifeguards, among others, benefit from more height. Entry requirements for the same include a physical fitness test, which constitutes an assessment of height as well.

The significance of measuring the height of individuals for an anthropological setting comes into play while studying the physical growth patterns and secular trends across regions and population groups[13]. We cannot apply established data for a particular population onto other populations and hope to expect accurate results. This can have clinical contraindications.

Procedure

Height assessment methods in infants:
Height measurement in infants poses a problem, given their small size, limited control over their body, and the inability to follow instructions. In infants, the attribute of height goes more commonly by the term “recumbent length” or “crown-heel length.” The recumbent length of an infant is measured using a simple horizontal length scale (HLS), tape measure, anthropometric rod, and an Infantometer. To measure the length of the infant clothes, diapers, hair ornaments, and objects of similar nature require removal. The head gets placed against the headboard in the Frankfurt vertical plane with the body in the supine position. The infant is then positioned along the center of the device with the footboard against the soles of the feet. The length is noted to the nearest millimeter.
Surrogate measures to full-length measurement in infants offer certain advantages over the conventional methods. They permit estimation of length through formulae and often are more accurate than the full-length measures. Additionally, they offer an insight into the differential growth of body segments as a function of age, sex, ethnicity, and pathological conditions. Alternative measures researched include arm span and ulnar length.

Height assessment methods in children:
Height is measured in children (aged 3 or more) through the use of a stadiometer or an anthropometer rod. The stadiometer is mounted on the wall for this purpose, and the child is asked to remove any footwear and/or head ornaments before noting the measurement. With the buttocks, the shoulder blades, and the back of the head against the board, the head is oriented in the Frankfurt horizontal plane (FH plane), and the headpiece gets firmly placed on the head. The reading is noted to the nearest tenth of a centimeter. An alternative to standing height measures in children is the sitting height, measured from the vertex (topmost point of the head) to the sitting surface after orienting the head in the Frankfurt horizontal plane.[4] The stadiometer is placed on a stool at a sufficient height to allow the participant’s legs to form a 90 angle with the ground. Bone age in children is also useful as an indicator of height (as given by Bayley and Pineau table).

Height assessment methods in adults and the elderly:
The most common method used for measuring height in the case of adults and the elderly is through the use of a stadiometer or an anthropometer. Regression equations for arm span, lower leg, foot length, shoeprint length, and recumbent length may also be used in the case of the elderly as reliable indicators of stature when standing height cannot be measured. Radiological methods such as X-ray and CT of long bones have also been used to estimate stature.
Performed: Bilaterally

Dialog

Measure of height.

Criteria

• Within appropriate age/growth charts
• No significant recent change

Measurement

inches

LOINC Code

8302-2

Scale/Grading

Pass/Fail