Acute Malnutrition Severity
https://publicschema.org/vocab/acute-malnutrition-severity
The severity band of a person's acute malnutrition, expressed as adequate, moderate, or severe. The band is a classification layer used across age groups and reference systems; the raw cutoffs that produce it differ by age (MUAC thresholds for children 6-59 months, weight-for-height z-score for under-5s, BMI-for-age for school-age children and adolescents, adult BMI for adults, pregnant/lactating cutoffs for women of reproductive age). Programs applying this vocabulary on an AnthropometricProfile must cite the muac_cutoff_rule that produced the band.
Standard reference
WHO/UNICEF Joint Statement: WHO child growth standards and the identification of severe acute malnutrition in infants and children (2009) (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241598163)
The 2009 WHO/UNICEF joint statement is the normative source for the MUAC < 115mm SAM cutoff in children 6-59 months. It supersedes the earlier 2007 WHO/WFP/SCN/UNICEF Joint Statement on Community-based Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition, which originally specified MUAC < 110mm and addressed only SAM. The three-band classification (adequate / MAM / SAM) used by this vocabulary is operationalized by subsequent consolidated guidance rather than by either joint statement. Reference cutoffs by age group: children 6-59 months, MUAC with SAM < 115mm, MAM 115-124mm, adequate >= 125mm, or WHZ bands SAM < -3 SD, MAM -3 to < -2 SD (WHO Child Growth Standards 2006); school-age / adolescents, BMI-for-age z-score thresholds from WHO 2007 Growth Reference; adults, BMI < 16 severe, 16-18.4 moderate, >= 18.5 adequate; pregnant and lactating women, MUAC cutoff (commonly < 210mm or < 230mm per protocol). Programs choose the rule appropriate to the subject and cite it on the AnthropometricProfile.
Values
| Code | Label | Standard code | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
adequate | Adequate | No acute malnutrition detected under the cutoff rule applied. Reference thresholds by age: MUAC >= 125mm for children 6-59 months; WHZ >= -2 SD for under-5s; BMI-for-age z-score >= -2 SD for school-age and adolescents; BMI >= 18.5 for adults. | |
moderate_acute_malnutrition | Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) | Moderate acute malnutrition under the cutoff rule applied. Reference thresholds by age: MUAC 115-124mm for children 6-59 months; WHZ -3 to <-2 SD for under-5s; BMI-for-age z-score -3 to <-2 SD for school-age and adolescents; BMI 16-18.4 for adults. Typically requires supplementary feeding. | |
severe_acute_malnutrition | Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) | Severe acute malnutrition under the cutoff rule applied, or presence of bilateral pitting oedema. Reference thresholds by age: MUAC < 115mm for children 6-59 months; WHZ < -3 SD for under-5s; BMI-for-age z-score < -3 SD for school-age and adolescents; BMI < 16 for adults. Requires therapeutic treatment. |
Referenced by this vocabulary
- WHO CGS World Health Organization, 2006
- WHO/UNICEF MUAC Cutoff (2009) World Health Organization / UNICEF, 2009