OBJECTIVE.Inadequate hydration status in children causes several conditions such as imbalance mood, headache, delayed cognitive function, even death. It is imperative to access the status quickly, accurately by using urine color scale and measuring the urine specific gravity. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between urine color scale and urine specific gravity to hydration status in children
METHOD.A cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2019 in Singkuang village. The samples were elementary children from 8 to 14 years old. All samples required to fill the questionnaire and to submit the urine sample. Then, they were examined to assess the hydration status. The urine was evaluated by using urine color scale and refractometer. Bivariate analysis, chi square, was used to analyze the determinants. The confidence interval was set to 95% and P<0.05 was significant.
RESULT.There were 222 samples from elementary school class 4 to 6. There were 46 (20.7%) dehydrated children from physical examination. There were 5 (2.2%) dehydrated children and 153 (65.9%) probable dehydrated children when be assessed by urine color scale. There were 18 (8.1%) dehydrated children when be assessed by urine specific gravity. There was no relationship between urine color scale and hydration status (P = 0.511). But the urine specific gravity was significantly correlated to hydration status (P = 0.032).
CONCLUSION.Urine specific gravity was significantly correlated to hydration status but it was not found in urine color scale.