title: Regional prevalence of short stature in Saudi school-age children and adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the magnitude of regional difference in prevalence of short stature in Saudi children and adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  A representative sample from three different regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (North, Southwest, and Center) was used to calculate the prevalence of short stature (standard deviation score less than -2) in children 5 to 17 years of age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 9018 children and adolescents from 5 to 17 years of age (3366, 2825, and 2827 in the Northern, Southwestern and Central regions, resp.) and 51% were boys. In both school-age children and adolescents, there was a significantly higher prevalence of short stature in the Southwestern than in the Northern or the Central region (P < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The finding of significant regional variation between regions helps in planning priorities for research and preventive measures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. drmouzan@gmail.com
authors.forename: Mohammad I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: El Mouzan
authors.forename: Abdullah S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Al Herbish
authors.forename: Abdullah A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Al Salloum
authors.forename: Ahmad A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Al Omer
authors.forename: Mansour M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Qurachi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001827:Body Height; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012016:Reference Values; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires