An Etiologic Evaluation of Children with Short Stature in Gorgan (Northeast Iran), 2005

Abstract

Growth is an important biological process during childhood. Short stature is the most common cause of a child to be examined by an endocrinologist. This cross-sectional study was performed to determine the short stature causes in children aged 6-14 years old in 2005 who were referred to Talghani Medical-Educational Center. Demographic characteristics, history of any serious problem (prematurity), clinical feature, biochemical and endocrinological test results and radiological findings were evaluated. Standard Deviation Score (SDS) was calculated and written down in an information recording form. From 100 children under study (66%) were girls with the average age of 10.84 year. Their average of bone age was 8.4 year. Most common causes for short stature were constitutional (57%), growth hormone deficiency (30%) and familial (8%). There was not significant difference between two sexes in this view. According to the findings, after ruling out of Constitutional and familial causes, we strongly recommended the provocative growth hormone test for early detection and timely prevention of permanent short stature.