Leg length and sitting height reference data and charts for children in the United States

Colin Patrick Hawkes; Sogol Mostoufi-Moab; Shana E McCormack; Adda Grimberg; Babette S Zemel

doi:10.1016/j.dib.2020.106131

Leg length and sitting height reference data and charts for children in the United States

Data Brief. 2020 Aug 5:32:106131. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2020.106131. eCollection 2020 Oct.

Authors

Colin Patrick Hawkes^{1

2}, Sogol Mostoufi-Moab^{1

2}, Shana E McCormack^{1

2}, Adda Grimberg^{1

2}, Babette S Zemel^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA.
² Department of Pediatrics, The University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA.
³ Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA.

Abstract

Population-specific reference data are required to interpret growth measurements in children. Sitting height and leg length (standing height minus sitting height) measurements are indicators of proportionality and can be used to evaluate children with disordered growth. NHANES III recorded sitting height and standing height measurements in a strategic random sample of the United States population from 1988 to 1994, and we have previously published reference charts for sitting height to standing height ratio in this population. In this study, we have developed separate sitting height and leg length reference charts for Non-Hispanic Black, Non-Hispanic White, and Mexican-American children in the United States. In addition, we provide mean (SD) and LMS data to support the use of these reference charts in clinical care.

Keywords: Data; Height; Reference; Sitting height; Skeletal dysplasia.