Extremely short stature: influence of each parent's height on clinical-biological features.
Idiopathic extremely short stature probably has several causes.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the influence of each parent's height on clinical-biological features.


METHODS
57 patients without intrauterine growth retardation seen at 7.9 +/- 0.4 years for height < or = -3 SD were classified according to the difference between their target height and actual height: < 2 SD in familial short stature (FSS, n = 28) and >2 SD in non-FSS (n = 29).


RESULTS
Height decreased from -0.5 +/- 0.1 SD at birth to -2 +/- 0.2 SD at 1 year and -2.7 +/- 0.1 SD at 3 years, but the changes in the two groups were similar. FSS children were shorter than non-FSS children both at birth (p = 0.03) and as adults after growth hormone (GH) treatment (p < 0.05), but their plasma insulin-like growth factor I concentrations and GH peaks were similar. The FSS children fathers' heights were more frequently below -2 SD (64%) than the mothers' heights (35%) and were correlated with height at first evaluation (p < 0.05). For the whole population, the mothers' heights were correlated with birth weight (p < 0.05) and with height at first evaluation (p < 0.03).


CONCLUSIONS
This study confirms the influence of the mother's height on birth weight and shows how of the father's height influences idiopathic extremely short stature.
Giacobbi
V
V
Université René-Descartes and Pediatric Endocrinology Unit, Fondation-Hôpital Saint-Joseph, Paris, France.
Trivin
C
C
Lawson-Body
E
E
Fonseca
M
M
Souberbielle
J-C
JC
Brauner
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000365:Age Determination by Skeleton / Q000379:methods; D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003241:Consanguinity; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000502:physiology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 / Q000097:blood; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors
D002352:Carrier Proteins; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D013006:Growth Hormone; C051815:somatotropin-binding protein