Etiology of short stature in children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Growth and Development
• Clinical Pediatrics

Background:

• Short stature affects a significant number of children, necessitating comprehensive etiological investigation.
• Identifying the underlying causes is crucial for appropriate management and intervention.
• Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) is one potential, though often less common, cause.

Purpose of the Study:

• To ascertain the primary causes of short stature in pediatric patients.
• To specifically evaluate the prevalence and significance of Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) among these cases.
• To differentiate between normal variants of growth and pathological short stature.

Main Methods:

• A case series study involving 214 children (aged 2-15 years) presenting with short stature.
• Assessment included growth chart plotting, hematological and biochemical investigations, bone age determination, and evaluation of the growth hormone axis.
• Karyotyping was performed in select cases, with data analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-tests.

Main Results:

• The most frequent causes identified were Constitutional Growth Delay (CGD) and Familial Short Stature (FSS), accounting for 37.4% of cases.
• Non-endocrinological etiologies comprised 46.7% of cases, while endocrinological causes were found in 15.9%.
• Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) was diagnosed in 6.1% of children, representing 38.2% of endocrinological cases. Pathological short stature was more likely in children below the 0.4th centile.

Conclusions:

• Constitutional Growth Delay (CGD) and Familial Short Stature (FSS) are the predominant causes of short stature in boys and girls, respectively.
• Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) is a relatively uncommon, but significant, endocrinological cause of short stature.
• Height falling below the 0.4th centile is a strong indicator of pathological short stature, warranting further investigation.