Arm
span
Standing height may be affected by disease, such as in kyphosis and kyphoscoliosis. We often want to know the impact of the distortion and limited excursion of the chest wall on lung volumes. We must then compare the actual lung volumes to the ones predicted in a subject without deformity of the trunk. One can then substitute arm span (i.e. the largest distance across the middle fingers when the arms are stretched horizontally sideways) for standing height.
Children/adolescents: Height and armspan were measured in healthy 6-10 and 8-18 year old boys and girls to assess the appropriate correction factor to be applied when height cannot be measured easily. No correction factor was found necessary, height being directly estimated from armspan (Hibbert, Torres).
Adults: in males substitute arm span/1.03 for standing height in the regression equation, in women arm span/1.01 (ref.1 ).
Ethnic differences: The trunk in Negroid and Mongoloid people is shorter or longer, respectively, than in Caucasians; hence the relationship between arm span and standing height differs somewhat between ethnic groups (ref. 2). Aggarwal et al. found an arm-span/height ratio of 1.024 in North Indian subjects. Parker et al. found sex, age and race related differences, and recommend the following equation when there is racial and gender heterogeneity:
Height = 67.90 + 0.664182·Arm span- 2.816·Sex - 4.05·Race - 0.0709·Age, R²0.8659, RSD 3.772,
where Sex 1 = male, 2 = female, and Race 1=white, 2=black, height and arm span in cm, and age in yr.
For homogeneous populations the following equations are recommended by Parker et al.:
White males: Height = 68.74 + 0.63008·Arm span - 0.1019·Age, R² = 0.7219, RSD 4.122;
White females: Height = 33.14 + 0.79499·Arm span, R² = 0.7684, RSD 3.391;
Black males: Height = 60.13 + 0.0.65336·Arm span - 0.08399·Age, R² =0.8137, RSD = 3.044;
Black females: Height = 59.07 + 0.61442·Arm span, R² = 0.6113, RSD 3.693.
Example (ref. 3): white woman (standing height 1.48 m, arm span 1.78 m, age 65 year) with severe kyphoscoliosis.
| Predicted from | |||
| Index | Measured | Height | Arm span |
| FEV1 (L) | 0.84 | 1.75 | 2.95 |
| IVC (L) | 0.98 | 2.27 | 3.69 |
| FEV1%IVC | 86 | 77 | 77 |
See also:
Reference values for adults
SpirXpert software
| Ref. 1 - Arm span and length | |
| Hepper NGG, Black LF, Fowler WS. Relationship of lung volume to height and arm span in normal subjects and in patients with spinal deformity. Am Rev Respir Dis 1965; 91; 356-362. | |
| Parker JM, Dillard TA, Phillips YY. Arm span-height relationships in patients referred for spirometry. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1996; 154: 533-536. | |
| ME Hibbert, A Lanigan, J Raven and PD Phelan. Relation of armspan to height and the prediction of lung function. Thorax 1988; 43: 657-659. (8-18 yr) | |
| Torres LAGMM, MD, Martinez FE, Manço JC. Correlation between standing height, sitting height, and arm span as an index of pulmonary function in 6–10-year-old children. Pediatr Pulmonol 2003; 36: 202–208. | |
| Ref. 2 - Arm span and length in non-Caucasian subjects | |
| Steele MF, Chenier TC. Arm-span, height, and age in black and white women. Ann Hum Biol 1990; 17: 533-541. | |
| Yun DJ, Yun DK, Chang YY, Lim SW, Lee MK, Kim SY. Correlations amongst height, leg length and arm span in growing Korean children. Ann Hum Biol 1995; 22: 443-458. | |
| Cheng JC, Leung SS, Lau J. Anthropometric measurements and body proportions among Chinese children. Clin Orthop 1996; 323: 22-30. | |
| Reeves SL, Varakamin C, Henry CJ. The relationship between arm-span measurement and height with special reference to gender and ethnicity. Eur J Clin Nutr 1996; 50: 398-400. | |
| Aggarwal AN, Gupta D, Jindal SK. Interpreting spirometric data: impact of substitution of arm span for standing height in adults from North India. Chest 1999; 115: 557-562. | |
| Ref. 3 - Example modified from: | |
| Longfunctie-onderzoek. Technieken, toepassingen, interpretaties (p. 19, table 3). Ed. M. Demedts and M. Decramer. Garant, Leuven/Apeldoorn, 1998. ISBN 90-5350-630-6. | |