Estimating Stature from Knee Height for Persons 60 to 90 Years of Age

TLDR

Stature is a key nutritional index for the elderly, but it is difficult to measure in nonambulatory or kyphotic patients, and knee height correlates strongly with stature. The study presents simple equations to estimate stature in elderly men and women from recumbent knee height (and age for women). The authors derived regression equations using recumbent knee height measurements, incorporating age for women, to predict stature. The equations achieve 90 % error bounds of ±6.0 cm for individual predictions. J Am Geriatr Soc 33:116, 1985.

Abstract

Stature is an important variable in several indices of nutritional status that are applicable to elderly persons. However, stature is difficult or impossible to measure in the nonambulatory elderly person, or its value may be spurious if measured in those elderly persons with excessive spinal curvature. Simple equations are presented for estimating the stature of elderly men from a recumbent measure of knee height and for elderly women from a recumbent measure of knee height and age. The 90 per cent error bounds for these equations for an individual are about plus or minus 6.0 cm. Knee height Is highly correlated with stature. J Am Geriatr Soc 33:116, 1985