Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 21, 2026

Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
07:56

Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts

Published on: January 29, 2018

Short stature in beta-thalassemia minor subjects

Mehran Karimi1, Hamd-Allah Karamifar

  • 1Hematology Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. karimi@sums.ac.ir

Medical Science Monitor : International Medical Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research
|October 28, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Short stature is more common in children with beta-thalassemia minor, a condition affecting hemoglobin synthesis. This study investigated growth in these children, finding a significant link between thalassemia minor and short stature.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Genetics
  • Hematology

Background:

  • Beta-thalassemia major patients exhibit growth disturbances.
  • Short stature in beta-thalassemia minor, a milder form of hemoglobin synthesis defect, remains understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence of short stature in children with beta-thalassemia minor.
  • To compare growth parameters in beta-thalassemia minor subjects with a healthy control group.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study measured heights of 100 children (2-18 years) with thalassemia minor and their parents.
  • Subjects with height below the 3rd percentile underwent extensive clinical and paraclinical evaluations.
  • A control group of 100 healthy children was matched for demographic characteristics.

Main Results:

  • The mean age of subjects was 6.62 years.
  • Short stature was observed in 27% of thalassemia minor patients.
  • All paraclinical data, except for hemoglobin levels, were within normal limits.

Conclusions:

  • Short stature is significantly more prevalent in beta-thalassemia minor subjects compared to controls.
  • Beta-thalassemia minor is identified as a potential cause of short stature in children.
Abstract

More Related Videos

Detection of Residual Donor Erythroid Progenitor Cells after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Patients with Hemoglobinopathies11:59

Detection of Residual Donor Erythroid Progenitor Cells after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Patients with Hemoglobinopathies

Published on: September 6, 2017

Related Concept Videos

Nature and Nurture01:10

Nature and Nurture

Many human characteristics, like height, are shaped by both nature—in other words, by our genes—and by nurture, or our environment. For example, chronic stress during childhood inhibits the production of growth hormones and consequently reduces bone growth and height. Scientists estimate that 70-90% of variation in height is due to genetic differences among individuals, and 10-30% of variation in height is due to differences in the environments that individuals experience, such as differences...
Polygenic Traits01:18

Polygenic Traits

When more than one gene is responsible for a given phenotype, the trait is considered polygenic. Human height is a polygenic trait. Studies have uncovered hundreds of loci that influence height, and there are believed to be many more. Due to the high number of genes involved, as well as environmental and nutritional factors, height varies significantly within a given population. The distribution of height forms a bell-shaped curve, with relatively few individuals in the population at the...
Alternative RNA Splicing02:18

Alternative RNA Splicing

Alternative RNA splicing is the regulated splicing of exons and introns to produce different mature mRNAs from a single pre-mRNA. Unlike in constitutive splicing where a single gene produces a single type of mRNA, alternative splicing allows an organism to produce multiple proteins from a single gene and plays an important role in protein diversity.
There are five types of alternative RNA splicing that vary in the ways the pre-mRNA segments are removed or retained in the mature mRNA. The first...