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TECHNICAL NOTE
Open Access

Mid-Upper Arm Circumference Tapes and Measurement Discrepancies: Time to Standardize Product Specifications and Reporting

Ritu Rana, Hatty Barthorp, Marie McGrath, Marko Kerac and Mark Myatt
Global Health: Science and Practice December 2021, 9(4):1011-1014; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00273
Ritu Rana
aGOAL Global, Dublin, Ireland.
bIndian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
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  • For correspondence: riturananfgh@gmail.com
Hatty Barthorp
aGOAL Global, Dublin, Ireland.
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Marie McGrath
cEmergency Nutrition Network, Kidlington, Oxford, United Kingdom.
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Marko Kerac
dDepartment of Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
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Mark Myatt
eBrixton Health, Llwyngwril, Gwynedd, Wales, United Kingdom.
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    FIGURE 1

    Two Mid-Upper Arm Circumference Tapes. Top: Type A (thickness: 180 microns; width: 17 mm; measurement: the scale measures the outside circumference of the tape); Bottom: Type B (thickness: 280 microns; width: 25 mm; measurement: the scale measures the inside circumference of the tape)

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    FIGURE 2

    Measurements by Same Individual Using Same Object but Two Different Mid-Upper Arm Circumference Tapes. Left: Type A, 167 mm; Right: Type B, 165 mm

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    TABLE.

    Systematic Bias (Built-in Error) in MUAC Tapes With Varying Thickness

    Type A Tape (with material thickness of 180 microns)Type B Tape (with material thickness of 280 microns)
    Example 1: On a 100 mm true circumference, we have: D = C/π = 100/3.14159 = 31.8310
    C = π × (31.8310 + 2a × 0.18) = 101.131 mm Built-in error of about 1.13 mmC = π × (31.8310 + 2a × 0.28) = 101.759 mm Built-in error of about 1.76 mm
    Example 2: If we consider a 200 mm circumference, we have: D = C/π = 200/3.14159 = 63.6620
    C = π × (63.6620 + 2a × 0.18) = 201.131 mm Built-in error also 1.13 mmC = π × (63.6620 + 2a × 0.28) = 201.759 mm Built-in error also 1.76 mm
    • Abbreviations: D, diameter; C, circumference; π (pi); MUAC, mid-upper arm circumference.

    • ↵a Need to add twice the thickness of the material (For more detailed explanation of why the error is constant despite different circumferences, see the “String Girdling Earth” mathematical puzzle).

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Global Health: Science and Practice: 9 (4)
Global Health: Science and Practice
Vol. 9, No. 4
December 31, 2021
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Mid-Upper Arm Circumference Tapes and Measurement Discrepancies: Time to Standardize Product Specifications and Reporting
Ritu Rana, Hatty Barthorp, Marie McGrath, Marko Kerac, Mark Myatt
Global Health: Science and Practice Dec 2021, 9 (4) 1011-1014; DOI: 10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00273

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Mid-Upper Arm Circumference Tapes and Measurement Discrepancies: Time to Standardize Product Specifications and Reporting
Ritu Rana, Hatty Barthorp, Marie McGrath, Marko Kerac, Mark Myatt
Global Health: Science and Practice Dec 2021, 9 (4) 1011-1014; DOI: 10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00273
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    • ABSTRACT
    • BACKGROUND
    • DIFFERENT TYPES OF MUAC TAPES AND SYSTEMATIC BIAS
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