Jm. Parker et al., ARM SPAN-HEIGHT RELATIONSHIPS IN PATIENTS REFERRED FOR SPIROMETRY, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 154(2), 1996, pp. 533-536
Citations number
9
Categorie Soggetti
Emergency Medicine & Critical Care","Respiratory System
Arm span has been proposed as a surrogate for standing height in the p
rediction of lung volumes in patients with thoracic deformities or who
are unable to stand. The relationship between arm span and height has
previously been reported as either a fixed ratio unaffected by age or
as a regression equation in which the ratio varies as a function of a
ge. We studied the relationship between standing height, arm span, rac
e, sex, and age in 202 patients (ages 20 to 88 yrs) referred for scree
ning spirometry. Multiple linear regression analysis found arm span, r
ace, sex, and age to be predictive of standing height (r(2) = 0.8659,
p < 0.0001). Subgroup analysis revealed that age was a significant fac
tor among males of either race, but not among females of either race.
Fixed arm span to height ratios were also calculated for each group an
d may be used to estimate standing height with reasonable accuracy exc
ept at extremes of stature.