Growth is one of the most important characteristics that distinguishes a child from an adult. It is a process that starts from the prenatal period until the end of adolescence, is affected by genetic, hormonal and environmental factors, and nutrition and health status play an important role. Monitoring growth not only shows how much a child will grow, but also reveals how healthy he is.
Growth occurs during intrauterine (prenatal period in the womb), infancy, childhood and It covers the adolescence period. The period before birth in the womb is the period when the growth rate is highest; 50 cm of growth occurs in nine months. During this period, the mother's diseases, nutrition, the condition of the placenta (the baby's partner in the womb), the baby's diseases and growth factors are effective on the baby's growth. After birth, an average growth of 25 cm is expected in the first year, 10-12 cm in the second year, 8 cm in the third year, and 7 cm in the fourth year. The average growth between the age of four and the beginning of puberty is 5-6 cm per year.
Definition of short stature
Short stature is defined as height in growth curves prepared according to age and gender. It is defined as being below the third percentile.
The largest group in short stature is "variant of normal" short stature. In the literature, among all short statures, those with normal variants are reported at a rate of 41-86.3%. Variant of normal short stature describes situations in which the underlying organic disease is excluded, the growth rate is normal, and the adult height can reach the target height calculated according to the height of the parents. Pathological short stature is seen in the presence of an underlying disease that will negatively affect height; The growth rate is low in these patients.
Normal variant short stature
The most important feature is that the growth rate is normal. Children in this group cross their growth curves downwards (lose percentile) in the first three years of their lives, then grow parallel to their growth curves, in other words, their growth rate is normal. This group can be divided into three: familial short stature, structural short stature, and short stature that combines these two.
Reduce family height The presence of short adults in the family of children with diabetes supports the diagnosis. The adult height of these children remains short, consistent with the short members of the family. Structural short stature is more common in boys; There are people in the family whose puberty is delayed and whose growth spurt is late. Although individuals with structural short stature spend their childhood as short, their adult height reaches normal values suitable for their families. Normal variant short stature is a condition that does not require treatment, but the family should be well informed.
IN other words, EVERY CHILD WHO IS BELOW THE 3rd PERCENTILE OF HEIGHT CANNOT BE TOLD TO HAVE SHORT HEIGHT. . BUT HE SHOULD DEFINITELY CONSULT A PEDIATRIC DOCTOR…
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