Definition
For surviving children born in the three to five years before the survey, HWARMAGESD (HW22) reports the difference between the child's arm circumference and the median arm circumference of a reference population of the same age and sex, expressed in units equal to one standard deviation of the reference population's distribution. An anthropometry measure expressed in reference standard deviation units is also known as a Z-score. HWARMAGESD values are reported in units equal to 1000 times the Z-score, to preserve two decimal places without requiring the use a decimal point. Dividing HWARMAGESD by 1000 will yield the arm circumference-for-age Z-score value.
HWARMCIR (HW20) reports the child's upper arm circumference, as measured by DHS personnel.
The complementary DHS variable HWARMAGEPCT (HW21) reports the child's arm circumference-for-age percentile within the same reference population used in HWARMAGESD. The complementary DHS variable HWARMAGEPCTRM (HW23) reports the child's arm circumference-for-age as a percentage of the median of the same reference population. Unlike z-scores, percentiles do not allow comparison across age and sex and cannot be used to assess longitudinal change in growth status.
