Frequency of familial short stature identified in children presenting with short stature at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Multan, Pakistan.

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of my study was to determine the frequency of familial short height in children aged 3 to 14 years with short height. Study Design: Descriptive study. Setting: Department of Pediatric Endocrinology at The Children Hospital & Institute of Child health Multan (CH& ICH). Period: 1st November 2018 to 31st October 2019. Material & Methods: Eighty four patients were enrolled after taking informed consent from parents/guardians. Heights of all patients, parental heights, mid parental heights were plotted on CDC growth charts. Patients having familial short stature were noted down. Results: Out of 84 patients, 59 (70.2%) were males and 25 (29.85%) were females. Age range was 3-14 years. Mean age of the population was 8.68 ± 3.42 years and mean height and weight were 114.29 ± 24.62cm and 28.95±10.01 kg, respectively. Mean height for mother and father of the patients were 154.39 ±4.56cm and 171.10 ± 3.52cm, respectively. Out of 84 children, 21 (25%) patients had FSS. In our study population FSS was more seen in children < 8 years of age, female gender and families with income of > 20K/months with p value of 0.879, 0.129 and 0.592 respectively. Conclusion: Majority of children presenting with short stature have FSS and CDG and do not have an endocrine disorder. In our study, frequency of familial short stature in children aged 3 to 14 years was 25%. The results should be validated in multicenter studies.