Results of the diagnostic properties of MUAC screening for maternal nutritional status
| Categories | MUAC cut-off (cm) | Sensitivity % (95% CI) | Specificity % (95% CI) | PPV% | NPV% | Likelihood ratio (LR+) | Likelihood ratio (LR−) | ACC% | N |
| First visit (19−21) | 1138 | ||||||||
| Underweight | <25.75 | 88.06 (82.57 to 92.05) | 65.73 (60.76 to 70.38) | 56.91 | 91.46 | 3.0 | 0.14 | 73.31 | 311 |
| Adequate | ≥25.75; ≤28.10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 281 |
| Overweight | >28.10 | 72.46 (64.10 to 79.55) | 69.58 (63.58 to 75.00) | 55.56 | 82.81 | 2.3 | 0.43 | 70.58 | 180 |
| Obese | >30.15 | 98.92 (95.78 to 99.81) | 60.39 (55.75 to 64.85) | 50.00 | 99.29 | 2.5 | 0 | 71.41 | 366 |
| Second visit (27−29) | 1076 | ||||||||
| Underweight | <25.75 | 82.09 (74.32 to 87.97) | 77.39 (73.08 to 81.20) | 53.14 | 93.26 | 4 | 0.25 | 78.51 | 207 |
| Adequate | ≥25.75; ≤28.70 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 356 |
| Overweight | >28.70 | 50.21 (43.69 to 56.73) | 84.52 (80.62 to 87.78) | 64.67 | 75.05 | 2.5 | 0.63 | 72.14 | 184 |
| Obese | >30.60 | 99.44 (96.47 to 99.97) | 70.30 (66.07 to 74.21) | 54.41 | 99.72 | 3.3 | 0 | 77.95 | 329 |
| Third visit (37−39) | 770 | ||||||||
| Underweight | <25.75 | 77.32 (67.48 to 84.95) | 82.26 (77.44 to 86.25) | 57.69 | 92.06 | 3.5 | 0.38 | 81.08 | 130 |
| Adequate | ≥25.75; ≤29.45 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 277 |
| Overweight | >29.45 | 42.86 (33.36 to 52.88) | 91.16 (87.16 to 94.03) | 63.38 | 81.71 | 4 | 0.67 | 78.45 | 71 |
| Obese | >30.25 | 94.74 (89.93 to 97.41) | 67.34 (62.45 to 71.88) | 55.48 | 96.75 | 3 | 0.14 | 75.57 | 292 |
Fisher’s exact test method which was statistically significant (p<0.05) for all categories at three set points analysed (p<0.0001).
ACC, accuracy; NPV, negative predictive value; PPV, positive predictive value.