Ex post adjustment for measurement error in stunting calculations: An illustration from Egypt

The present study provides ranges for the magnitude of bias caused by measurement error in stunting rates, a widely used a proxy for long-term nutritional status.Stunting, which is determined by the number of cases that fall below −2 sd from the mean height-for-age in the population, mechanically in...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Figueroa, Jose Luis, Kurdi, Sikandra
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Nutrition Society 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142876
_version_ 1855532359362805760
author Figueroa, Jose Luis
Kurdi, Sikandra
author_browse Figueroa, Jose Luis
Kurdi, Sikandra
author_facet Figueroa, Jose Luis
Kurdi, Sikandra
author_sort Figueroa, Jose Luis
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The present study provides ranges for the magnitude of bias caused by measurement error in stunting rates, a widely used a proxy for long-term nutritional status.Stunting, which is determined by the number of cases that fall below −2 sd from the mean height-for-age in the population, mechanically increases with higher variance. This variance stems from both natural heterogeneity in the population and measurement error. To isolate the effect of measurement error, we model the true distributions which could give rise to the observed distributions after subtracting a simulated measurement error.We analyse information from three rounds of the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Egypt (2005, 2008 and 2014). Egypt ranks high among developing countries with low-quality anthropometric data collected in the DHS, currently the main source of anthropometry in the country.The study relies on re-analysis of existing DHS data, which record height, weight and age data for children under 5 years old.Under the most conservative assumptions about measurement error, the stunting rate falls by 4 percentage points for the most recent DHS round, while assuming higher levels of measurement error reduces the stunting rate more dramatically.Researchers should be aware of and adjust for data quality concerns in calculating stunting rates for cross-survey comparisons or in communicating to policy makers.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace142876
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2020
publishDateRange 2020
publishDateSort 2020
publisher Nutrition Society
publisherStr Nutrition Society
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1428762025-12-08T10:29:22Z Ex post adjustment for measurement error in stunting calculations: An illustration from Egypt Figueroa, Jose Luis Kurdi, Sikandra calculation child nutrition anthropometry simulation policies surveys health growth disorders stunting measurement malnutrition nutrition children demography growth The present study provides ranges for the magnitude of bias caused by measurement error in stunting rates, a widely used a proxy for long-term nutritional status.Stunting, which is determined by the number of cases that fall below −2 sd from the mean height-for-age in the population, mechanically increases with higher variance. This variance stems from both natural heterogeneity in the population and measurement error. To isolate the effect of measurement error, we model the true distributions which could give rise to the observed distributions after subtracting a simulated measurement error.We analyse information from three rounds of the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Egypt (2005, 2008 and 2014). Egypt ranks high among developing countries with low-quality anthropometric data collected in the DHS, currently the main source of anthropometry in the country.The study relies on re-analysis of existing DHS data, which record height, weight and age data for children under 5 years old.Under the most conservative assumptions about measurement error, the stunting rate falls by 4 percentage points for the most recent DHS round, while assuming higher levels of measurement error reduces the stunting rate more dramatically.Researchers should be aware of and adjust for data quality concerns in calculating stunting rates for cross-survey comparisons or in communicating to policy makers. 2020-02-01 2024-05-22T12:11:13Z 2024-05-22T12:11:13Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142876 en https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133443 Limited Access Nutrition Society Figueroa, Jose Luis; and Kurdi, Sikandra. 2020. Ex post adjustment for measurement error in stunting calculations: An illustration from Egypt. Public Health Nutrition 23(5): 776-781. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019003100
spellingShingle calculation
child nutrition
anthropometry
simulation
policies
surveys
health
growth disorders
stunting
measurement
malnutrition
nutrition
children
demography
growth
Figueroa, Jose Luis
Kurdi, Sikandra
Ex post adjustment for measurement error in stunting calculations: An illustration from Egypt
title Ex post adjustment for measurement error in stunting calculations: An illustration from Egypt
title_full Ex post adjustment for measurement error in stunting calculations: An illustration from Egypt
title_fullStr Ex post adjustment for measurement error in stunting calculations: An illustration from Egypt
title_full_unstemmed Ex post adjustment for measurement error in stunting calculations: An illustration from Egypt
title_short Ex post adjustment for measurement error in stunting calculations: An illustration from Egypt
title_sort ex post adjustment for measurement error in stunting calculations an illustration from egypt
topic calculation
child nutrition
anthropometry
simulation
policies
surveys
health
growth disorders
stunting
measurement
malnutrition
nutrition
children
demography
growth
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142876
work_keys_str_mv AT figueroajoseluis expostadjustmentformeasurementerrorinstuntingcalculationsanillustrationfromegypt
AT kurdisikandra expostadjustmentformeasurementerrorinstuntingcalculationsanillustrationfromegypt