The Effect of The Height of a Second-Degree Relative on Children with Short Stature

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of the heights of second-degree relatives on adult height. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Healthy children who applied to the general pediatric outpatient clinic to monitor the development of growth were considered as control group. Case group consisted of patients over 3 years of age with genetic, idiopathic short stature or without short stature but below the target height. All participants had either an uncle and an aunt with a short stature. Two groups were compared for their demographic characteristics and family information. Results: The control group consisted of 43 children who were older than 3 years. A total of 101 cases of short stature were included in the study. Prevalence rates of idiopathic (39.6%: n=40), familial (36.6%: n=37), and constitutional (23.7%: n=24) short stature were as indicated. When the males included in the study were examined from different perspectives (case, control, presence of consanguineous marriage), the height of the uncle was predicted to be closer to or equal to the target height. Conclusion: In case of short stature, the ‘target height’ criterion alone is shown to be not reliable in the assessment of genetic compatibility as well as the deviation from the predicted final height. Predicted final height was demonstrated to be similar to aunt height for girls and uncle height for boys. Therefore, the height of a second-degree relative can be used as an aid in the estimation.