ABSTRACT
Physiological growth is a sensitive long-term indicator of child health. Impaired growth of children may be the first manifestation of a serious chronic disease. Short stature is a common pediatric endocrine problem. The short stature, although not a disease per se, is a manifestation of several diseases. Its early diagnosis and treatment is most of the time rewarding. Children between the age group of 2 to 15 years with growth retardation attending endocrine clinic in Loghman Hospital, Tehran, in October 2003 through October 2005were evaluated for short stature. Evaluation included: detailed medical history, physical examination and laboratory tests such as blood count, thyroid function, growth hormone screening, bone age estimation, and karyotypes. Centers for Disease Control [CDC] growth charts was used for percentiles. 188 children [110 boys, 78 girls] with growth retardation, whose heights were below 2 standard deviation score for age and gender, attended endocrine clinic. Normal variations accounted for 85.5% of all etiologies for reasons such as constitutional delay 49% and familial short stature 26.5% and a combination of both 9%. The rest [14.5%] consisted of pathological short stature. Growth hormone deficiency and hypothyroidism were the most common causes of pathological short stature. The most common cause of short stature was a normal variance followed by short stature caused by endocrine disturbances. In both sexes constitutional growth delay followed by familial short stature counted to the most common non-endocrine causes of short stature