Definition
For male household members, HWMHTASDRM (HB5) reports the difference between the man's height and the median height 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. HWMHTASDRM values are reported in units equal to 100 times the Z-score, to preserve two decimal places without requiring the use of a decimal point. Dividing HWMHTASDRM by 100 will yield the height-for-age Z-score (HBZ) value.
The reference standard contains data for children up to age 18. For all men age 18 and over, the value for 215 months (17 years, 11 months) is used, based on the assumption that men are fully grown by age 18.
HWMHEIGHT (HB3) reports the man's height as measured by DHS personnel.
The complementary DHS variable HWMHTAPCT (HB4) reports the man's height-for-age percentile within the same reference population used in HWMHTASDRM. The complementary DHS variable HWMHTAPCTRM (HB6) reports the man's height-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 assess longitudinal change in growth status.
