Predictive Value of Short‐Term Growth Using Knemometry in a Large Population of Healthy Children

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Abstract
We have analyzed the lower leg growth using a knemometer and the height growth using a stadiometer of 90 healthy children aged 3‐16 years, for one year. The intra‐ and interindividual monthly lower leg growth varied up to 4‐fold, which was not accounted for by age or sex. The correlation between short term and annual lower leg growth rates increased with longer observation periods. There was no month‐to‐month consistency in the ratio of lower leg growth and height growth. There was no correlation between 1 month lower leg growth and annual height growth. The correlation increased with time. The 6‐month observation interval was the interval with the highest predictive value for annual lower leg growth (R2=0.727) and annual height growth (R2=0.732). We conclude that growth of different parts of the skeleton and variable interval growth rates limits the ability of knemometry to predict long term growth.