Prevalence and etiological profile of short stature among school children in a South Indian population

Abstract

Background and Objectives:Short stature (SS) is a common pediatric problem and it might be the first sign of underlying illness. Studies documenting the burden and etiological profile of SS are scarce from India and are mostly limited to data obtained from referral centers. Due to the lack of large-scale, community-based studies utilizing a standard protocol, the present study aimed to assess the prevalence and etiological profile of SS in school children of a South Indian district.Materials and Methods:In this cross-sectional study, children aged 4–16 years from 23 schools in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, underwent anthropometric measurements and height was plotted in Khadilkar et al. growth chart. The cause of SS was assessed using clinical and laboratory evaluations in assigned children with a height less than third centile.Results:A total of 15644 children belonging to 23 schools were evaluated, and 448 (2.86%) children had SS. Etiological evaluation was further performed in 87 randomly assigned children, and it is identified that familial SS or constitutional delay in growth was the most common cause of SS in the study population (66.67%). Hypothyroidism and growth hormone deficiency were the two most common pathological causes of SS seen in 12 (13.79%) and 8 (9.20%) children, respectively. Malnutrition was the cause of SS in 6 (6.9%) children and cardiac disorders, psychogenic SS, and skeletal dysplasia were other identified causes of SS in the study.Interpretation and Conclusions:The overall prevalence of SS in school children was 2.86% and familial SS or constitutional delay in growth was the most common cause of SS. As a significant percentage of children with SS had correctable causes, monitoring growth with a standard growth chart should be mandatory in all schools.

Prevalence of short stature and malnutrition among Egyptian primary school children and their coexistence with Anemia

“…The hallmarks of familial cause were; an appropriate bone age for chronologic age with normal growth velocity, and predicted adult height was appropriate to the family, in Contrast to constitutional cause which characterized by bone age delay with normal growth velocity and predicted adult height was appropriate to the family, they mostly have relative or parents with late puberty [33]. This agrees with Hussein et al in Egypt who presented the causes as; non pathological variants represented 61.6% and most frequent pathological causes were GHD and hypothyroidism and Velayutham K et al who showed that familial cause was the most common etiology [22,34]. but it disagrees with Colaco et al and Bhadada et al who reported the prevalence of normal variants to be 20.5 and 15.9% respectively [35,36].…”

Prevalence of Short Stature and Malnutrition among Egyptian Primary School Children and their Coexistence with Anemia

“…22,35 but it disagrees with Colaco et al and Bhadada et al whoreported the prevalence of normal variants to be 20.5% and 15.9% respectively [36][37]. The present results reported that the most prevalent pathological causes were GHD (9.7%) and hypothyroidism(7.6%), which agrees with Hussein et al 22 and disagree with Velayutham et al and Bhadada et alwho showed the most frequent pathological cause was hypothyroidism (13.8%) (14.2%) respectively followed by GHD 35,37. The lower prevalence of hypothyroidism in our study is a result of the strict and successful neonatal screening program and availability of thyroid investigations.…”

“…The lower prevalence of hypothyroidism in our study is a result of the strict and successful neonatal screening program and availability of thyroid investigations. In the present study malnutrition caused stunting in 6.8% of the sample, which is relatively near to reports from other developing countries 35. In contrast, other studies didn`t report malnutrition as a cause of stunting, because they conducted the study on children in tertiary centers referred from other hospitals where they may have received nutritional intervention.…”

Prevalence of Short Stature and Malnutrition among Egyptian Primary School Children and their Coexistence with Anemia

“…This agrees with Hussein et al in Egypt who presented the causes as; non pathological variants represented 61.6% and most frequent pathological causes were GHD and hypothyroidism and Velayutham K et al who showed that familial cause was the most common etiology. 22,34 but it disagrees with Colaco et al and Bhadada et al who reported the prevalence of normal variants to be 20.5% and 15.9% respectively. 35,36 The present study showed that the prevalence of GHD as a pathological cause to short stature was nearly the same as that measured in Hussein et al, Velayutham et al and Bhadada et al 22,34,36 while the prevalence of hypothyroidism was much lower than that measured in Velayutham et al and Bhadada et al 34, , which can be explained by the strict and successful neonatal screening program and availability of thyroid investigations in Egypt.…”