Adult height in thalassaemia major without hormonal treatment

Height and sitting height were measured in all the 28 patients (19 females and 9 males) of our Thalassaemic Centre who exhibited evidence of cessation of growth. Their average final stature, which had been spontaneously achieved at an age ranging from 15.0-21.5 years (mean 17.9), was slightly lower with respect to the mean standards for women (159.1 +/- 8.4 vs 160.0 +/- 6.0 cm) and men (167.8 +/- 6.4 vs 172.5 +/- 6.0 cm). Height deficiency exceeded 2 SD scores in only 3/28 patients. If compared to the familial target height, patients' stature fell within the familial range in 19/24 cases and in only one case was it below the lower limit. In the whole sample the patients' height was positively related to their familial target height (r = 0.72, P less than 0.0002) and also to mid-parental stature (r = 0.45, P less than 0.05). Heights of both females and males were superimposable on those of their own mothers and fathers respectively. Average values of either SH (76.4 +/- 3.8 vs 79.9 +/- 3.4 cm, 2 P less than 0.02) or SH/H ratio (48.9 +/- 2.5 vs 51.5 +/- 1.0, 2 P less than 0.005) were significantly lower in the female thalassaemics than in the sex-matched controls. Three females and one male showed subnormal values of both SH and SH/H ratio. Two out of these patients with eunochoid body proportions and another one with a decreased SH/H ratio have hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and are undergoing a chronic substitutive treatment with sexual hormones, which was instituted after the achievement of final stature.