Mid upper-arm circumference is an effective tool to identify infants and young children with severe acute malnutrition in India.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the appropriateness of current mid upper-arm circumference (MUAC) cut-offs to identify children with severe acute malnutrition in India.

DESIGN: The analysis concerned 6307 children admitted to nutrition rehabilitation centres (2009-2011) where they received therapeutic care as per guidelines by WHO and the Indian Academy of Pediatrics.

SETTING: States of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, India.

SUBJECTS: Children aged 6-59 months with bilateral pitting oedema or weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ)<-3 or MUAC<115 mm at admission.

RESULTS: Children aged 6-23 months represented ~80 % of the admissions. Among them, the proportion with WHZ<-3 was similar to that with MUAC<115 mm (85·7 % v. 81·8 %); the proportion with MUAC<115 mm whose WHZ was <-3 was 82·6 %; and the proportion with WHZ<-3 whose MUAC<115 mm was 78·8 %. MUAC<115 mm was as effective as WHZ<-3 in identifying 6-59-month-old children with medical complications (32·2 % v. 31·6 %, respectively), the most important risk factor of death among oedema-free children. Furthermore, death rates in children with MUAC<115 mm were higher than in children with WHZ<-3 (0·61 % v. 0·58 %, respectively) and 91 % of the deaths among oedema-free children were deaths of children with MUAC<115 mm.

CONCLUSIONS: In populations similar to those included in our analysis, MUAC<115 mm appears to be an appropriate criterion to identify children with severe acute malnutrition who are at a greater risk of medical complications and death, particularly among children 6-23 months old.