Table 2.
Pooled sensitivity, specificity and informedness (Youden’s index) for 12 anthropometric case definitions and death within 6 months of measurement in 12 cohorts
| Age | Case-definition | Sensitivity (%)* | 95 % CI† | Specificity (%)* | 95 % CI† | Youden’s index (%)* | 95 % CI† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 to 23 months | HAZ < −3 | 27·92 | 18·18, 37·65 | 82·85 | 77·30, 88·41 | 11·75 | 6·17, 17·34 |
| HAZ < −2 | 52·94 | 42·47, 63·41 | 58·27 | 48·19, 68·36 | 12·30 | 6·46, 18·14 | |
| WAZ < −3 | 30·25 | 22·11, 38·40 | 87·65 | 83·65, 91·65 | 18·58 | 11·87, 25·28 | |
| WAZ < −2 | 56·14 | 46·86, 65·41 | 65·64 | 54·88, 76·39 | 22·50 | 15·56, 29·44 | |
| WHZ < −3 | 11·91 | 7·16, 16·66 | 96·99 | 96·06, 97·91 | 8·78 | 4·54, 13·01 | |
| WHZ < −2 | 30·48 | 20·64, 40·32 | 86·24 | 81·94, 90·54 | 16·93 | 9·75, 24·10 | |
| MUAC < 115 mm‡ | 21·04 | 9·62, 32·46 | 92·10 | 87·07, 97·14 | 10·96 | 5·09, 16·83 | |
| MUAC < 120 mm‡ | 31·81 | 13·50, 50·12 | 83·70 | 74·08, 93·31 | 13·79 | 4·18, 23·40 | |
| MUAC < 125 mm‡ | 47·00 | 24·49, 69·52 | 70·99 | 56·14, 85·84 | 17·73 | 5·49, 29·97 | |
| WHZ < −2 and HAZ < −2 | 20·54 | 8·46, 32·62 | 87·37 | 80·86, 93·88 | 9·37 | 2·55, 16·19 | |
| MUAC < 115 mm or WHZ < −3‡ | 23·91 | 14·83, 32·98 | 89·50 | 85·58, 93·43 | 12·49 | 6·57, 18·40 | |
| MUAC < 115 mm or WAZ < −3‡ | 37·91 | 24·37, 51·45 | 78·94 | 74·91, 82·98 | 18·55 | 7·99, 29·12 | |
| 24 to 59 months§ | HAZ < −3 | 48·41 | 35·50, 61·31 | 70·88 | 62·27, 79·49 | 22·51 | 18·09, 26·92 |
| HAZ < −2 | 73·82 | 61·97, 85·68 | 42·89 | 30·92, 54·85 | 19·32 | 13·29, 25·35 | |
| WAZ < −3 | 31·10 | 25·52, 36·69 | 88·90 | 85·96, 91·85 | 22·26 | 18·03, 26·49 | |
| WAZ < −2 | 60·07 | 52·28, 67·86 | 64·54 | 57·07, 72·01 | 28·09 | 22·70, 33·48 | |
| WHZ < −3 | 7·83 | 4·22, 11·45 | 99·16 | 98·78, 99·53 | 6·64 | 3·50, 9·79 | |
| WHZ < −2 | 22·74 | 14·48, 31·00 | 94·37 | 92·09, 96·64 | 17·32 | 11·78, 22·85 | |
| MUAC < 115 mm | 13·45 | 5·44, 21·47 | 98·49 | 97·19, 99·79 | 11·35 | 5·21, 17·50 | |
| MUAC < 120 mm | 18·71 | 7·81, 29·61 | 96·59 | 93·80, 99·38 | 14·24 | 7·47, 21·02 | |
| MUAC < 125 mm | 28·10 | 19·03, 37·17 | 92·47 | 86·59, 98·35 | 20·09 | 14·78, 25·40 | |
| WHZ < −2 and HAZ < −2 | 19·68 | 13·65, 25·70 | 95·99 | 94·13, 97·86 | 16·12 | 11·36, 20·88 | |
| MUAC < 115 mm or WHZ < −3 | 15·43 | 10·81, 20·06 | 97·80 | 96·31, 99·28 | 13·10 | 8·78, 17·43 | |
| MUAC < 115 mm or WAZ < −3 | 32·81 | 26·98, 38·64 | 86·06 | 80·89, 91·22 | 23·69 | 18·04, 29·35 | |
| 6 to 59 months | HAZ < −3 | 32·63 | 23·57, 41·69 | 79·30 | 72·30, 86·29 | 13·49 | 9·96, 17·02 |
| HAZ < −2 | 58·28 | 48·96, 67·60 | 54·26 | 43·75, 64·78 | 12·77 | 7·93, 17·60 | |
| WAZ < −3 | 30·81 | 24·09, 37·52 | 88·62 | 85·07, 92·17 | 20·38 | 15·10, 25·66 | |
| WAZ < −2 | 57·86 | 49·71, 66·00 | 66·28 | 56·91, 75·65 | 24·94 | 19·87, 30·02 | |
| WHZ < −3 | 11·12 | 6·94, 15·30 | 97·96 | 97·43, 98·49 | 9·01 | 5·26, 12·76 | |
| WHZ < −2 | 28·45 | 19·73, 37·16 | 90·06 | 87·34, 92·79 | 18·47 | 12·20, 24·75 | |
| MUAC < 115 mm | 17·56 | 7·60, 27·53 | 96·52 | 94·14, 98·90 | 13·46 | 6·49, 20·44 | |
| MUAC < 120 mm | 25·11 | 10·03, 40·18 | 92·64 | 87·72, 97·55 | 17·23 | 7·62, 26·83 | |
| MUAC < 125 mm | 37·22 | 20·30, 54·13 | 85·89 | 77·02, 94·76 | 23·00 | 13·77, 32·23 | |
| WHZ < −2 and HAZ < −2 | 19·33 | 9·96, 28·70 | 93·55 | 90·25, 96·86 | 13·36 | 6·69, 20·02 | |
| MUAC < 115 mm or WHZ < −3 | 20·38 | 13·58, 27·18 | 95·31 | 93·24, 97·38 | 15·00 | 10·12, 19·89 | |
| MUAC < 115 mm or WAZ < −3 | 36·29 | 26·13, 46·45 | 83·56 | 79·10, 98·02 | 22·55 | 16·13, 28·97 |
HAZ, height-for-age Z-score; WAZ, weight-for-age Z-score; WHZ, weight-for-height Z-score; MUAC, mid-upper arm circumference.
Cohort-specific results were combined using random effects (DerSimonian-Laird) meta-analysis.
Intervals are expressed in ISO 31–11 form. The form [a;b] expresses the interval a ≤ x ≤ b. For example, (19·72, 37·97) is used to represent a 95 % CI that ranges between 19·72 and 37·97.
Analysis restricted to cohorts that collected MUAC data (DRC, Nepal, Niger and Senegal).
Analysis restricted to cohorts that included data for ages ≥ 24 months (DRC, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Nepal, Niger, Philippines, Senegal and Sudan).