Utility of equations that consider gross motor function to estimate height in a Mexican population of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy

Introduction: height estimation is essential for the assessment of nutritional status. In children with cerebral palsy (CP), it is difficult to obtain this information reliably. The equations that consider gross motor function to estimate height have not been tested in the Mexican population. Objective: to evaluate the usefulness of equations that consider gross motor function to estimate height in a Mexican population of children and adolescents with CP. Methods: this was an analytical cross-sectional study of children and adolescents from two to 18 years of age with CP. Height, height-for-age index and BMI were estimated via the Stevenson and Ruiz-Brunner equations. The Mann-Whitney U-test, Spearman correlation and Bland-Altman concordance analysis were performed. Results: the equations that consider gross motor function showed excellent correlations (height r = 0.987, p < 0.001; height-for-age index r = 0.959, p < 0.001; and BMI r = 0.986, p < 0.001). The mean difference for height was -2.92 ± 3.14 cm; for the height-for-age index, it was -2.67 ± 2.66 %; and for BMI, it was 0.75 ± 0.71 kg/m2. The groups with levels 1-3 gross motor function showed wider limits of agreement than groups with levels 4-5 for the three anthropometric indicators. Conclusion: the equations that consider the levels of gross motor function to estimate height are useful in a Mexican population with CP.