Prediction of standing height among Israeli older adults: Results from a national survey

Background: An accurate measurement of full height while standing is sometimes not possible among older adults, in particular among the frail elderly. For such cases, the use of knee height (KH) and ulna bone length (UL) has been suggested for standing height estimation. Studies have shown that predictive equations of height were ethnic-specific. Aim: This study attempted to develop representative equations to predict standing height based on KH, UL and waist circumference (WC) for older adult Israeli women and men. Subjects and methods: A random sample of 1500 older adults (aged 74.48 ± 6.09 years old). Participants were interviewed in their homes and measurements of Standing height, KH, UL and WC were taken. A quadratic regression analysis, for each sex separately, was performed to predict standing height based on age, KH, UL and WC. Results: The adjusted r ² standing height prediction equations were 0.51 and 0.67 for women and men, respectively. Conclusions: The prediction of the standing height of frail elderly Israelis, by KH, UL, WC and age, may be an alternative method when actual standing height is difficult or not possible to measure.