Short stature

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Height/weight chart

Overview

Treatment

Short stature

Definition:

Short stature is refers to any person who is significantly below the average height for a person of the same age and sex -- specifically, the shortest 5% of the population. The term may refer to children or adolescents who are significantly below the average height of their peers.

Considerations:

Short stature is not necessarily a symptom or sign. Two relatively short but healthy parents may have an entirely healthy child who is in the shortest 5%.

On the other hand, short stature may be a symptom caused by a medical condition and, as many of these conditions are treatable, should be evaluated by a health care provider.

Common Causes:

Inherited and genetic factors
Hypothyroidism that develops before birth
Delayed puberty (causes temporary short stature, but normal height is eventually achieved)
Precocious puberty
Malnourishment
Chronic diseases, such as congenital heart disease, kidney diseases, asthma, sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes
Malabsorption disorders such as celiac disease
Inflammatory bowel disease
AIDS
Achondroplasia
Russell-Silver syndrome
Hypopituitarism
Pituitary dwarfism
Craniopharyngioma
Rickets
Turner syndrome

Review Date: 2/9/2005
Reviewed By: Thomas A. Owens, M.D., Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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