Etiological profile of short stature in a referral endocrinology clinic

Background: Physiological growth is a sensitive long-term indicator of child health. Impaired growth of children may be the first manifestation of a serious chronic disease. Short stature is a common pediatric endocrine problem. The short stature, although not a disease per se, is a manifestation of several diseases. Its early diagnosis and treatment is most of the time rewarding.
Methods: Children between the age group of 2 to 15 years with growth retardation attending endocrine clinic in Loghman Hospital, Tehran, in October 2003 through October 2005were evaluated for short stature. Evaluation included: detailed medical history, physical examination and laboratory tests such as blood count, thyroid function, growth hormone screening, bone age estimation, and karyotypes. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) growth charts was used for percentiles.
Findings: 188 children (110 boys, 78 girls) with growth retardation, whose heights were below 2 standard deviation score for age and gender, attended endocrine clinic. Normal variations accounted for 85.5% of all etiologies for reasons such as constitutional delay 49% and familial short stature 26.5% and a combination of both 9%. The rest (14.5%) consisted of pathological short stature. Growth hormone deficiency and hypothyroidism were the most common causes of pathological short stature
Conclusions: The most common cause of short stature was a normal variance followed by short stature caused by endocrine disturbances. In both sexes constitutional growth delay followed by familial short stature counted to the most common non-endocrine causes of short stature.

Keywords
Short stature, Constitutional Short stature, Familial Short stature, Children, Growth