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Linear growth characteristics of children with cleft lip and palate
1Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital and Medical Center, and University of Washington, School of Medicine, Seattle 98195, USA.
Insights
Children with isolated cleft lip (CL), cleft palate (CP), or both (CLP) show a tendency toward short stature. While males exhibit faster growth rates, females may face a higher risk of shorter stature by age 18.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric endocrinology
- Genetics
- Growth and development
Background:
- Children with cleft lip (CL), cleft palate (CP), or both (CLP) may experience growth disturbances.
- Previous studies have yielded conflicting results regarding the growth patterns of these children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the linear growth patterns of children with isolated CL, CP, or CLP.
- To assess the risk of short stature in this pediatric population.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective chart review of 324 patients with isolated clefting and no other congenital anomalies.
- Longitudinal analysis of height and growth rates using anthropometric data.
- Statistical comparison of patient growth percentiles against population norms.
Main Results:
- From birth to 10 years, average height for white patients (CL, CP, CLP) remained near the 40th percentile.
- Significant statistical differences from population mean height were observed in 60% of males and 70% of females annually.
- Growth rates from 2.5 to 12 years were above the population mean in 64% of males versus 36% of females.
Conclusions:
- Children with isolated clefting exhibit a tendency towards short stature.
- Male patients demonstrated above-average growth rates, while females showed below-average rates from 2 to 18 years.
- Female patients may be at higher risk for overall short stature compared to males.
Objective:
To study the linear growth characteristics of children with isolated cleft lip (CL), cleft palate (CP), or both (CLP) and to determine whether this population is at risk for short stature.
Study Design:
Retrospective chart review identified 324 patients with CL, CP, or CLP that displayed no additional congenital anomalies. Longitudinal height and growth rate analyses were performed on routine anthropometric measurements gathered from hospital and clinic records. One-sample t tests (p < 0.05) of average height percentiles were performed at yearly intervals. Analysis of variance was performed on clefting subgroups.
Results:
From birth to 10 years of age, the average height of both male and female white patients is consistently near the 40th percentile. At yearly intervals, 60% of male and 70% of female average heights demonstrate statistical difference from the population mean. For all patients, 64% of male but only 36% of female growth rates, from 2.5 to 12 years of age, were above the population mean.
Conclusions:
White children from birth to 10 years of age with isolated CL, CP, or CLP demonstrated a mean height below the population mean. These data suggest that children with isolated clefting manifest an intrinsic tendency toward short stature. In addition, male patients display above-average growth rates, whereas female patients display below-average growth rates, from 2 to 18 years of age. The data imply that female patients may be at increased risk of overall short stature, whereas male patients may eventually obtain mean population height.