Final adult height of patients with epilepsy

The standing height was measured of 88 adult patients with epilepsy (39 men, 49 women) who had not been resident in institutions during thier childhood. No over-all significant differences were found between these patients and the general population of the United Kingdom, whatever the age of beginning anti-epileptic therapy. However, men with partial seizures beginning before the age of 18 were significantly shorter than men with grand mal epilepsy and than the normal male population. Women who had taken phenytoin before completing their growth were significantly shorter than the normal female population, and men who had received phenytoin before 10 years of age showed a tendency to be shorter than the norm.