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Causes of a Short Stature

The term short stature is often used to describe children and adolescents who are significantly shorter than other children the same age. A child of short stature is in the 5th percentile or less for height, or two standard deviations below the average height of children his age. There are a number of reasons a child might be described as having a short stature, some more serious than others.

  1. Family History

    • Short stature in a child is not necessarily the result of a problem if the child's parents are also short. Short stature can be inherited. If a child is in less than the 5th percentile for height, but appears to have a steady rate of growth and she has very short parents, it is likely she has a genetic predisposition to be shorter than average.

    Problems During Mother's Pregnancy

    • The experiences a baby has in the womb can affect his rate of growth after birth. If a mother is diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction, her baby is not getting the oxygen and nutrition it is supposed to obtain from the placenta. This condition can cause a child to be shorter than normal after birth. Infection of a baby while inside of the womb can also result in a child with short stature.

    Constitutional Growth Delay

    • A child with a constitutional growth delay will grow normally until around her first birthday. After a year, growth slows and the child will appear to be short for her age. Puberty is often delayed in a child experiencing a constitutional growth delay and she will reach her maximum growth later than the average age a child normally stops growing. Constitutional growth delay does not generally lead to long term short stature.

    Bone Problems

    • A child's growth potential can be verified by an X-ray of the hand and wrist. If a child's bones show they still have time and room to grow, short stature may not be anything to worry about. A child may appear smaller simply because her bone age is less than her true age at the time. Certain problems with the bones can cause retarded growth in in the bones. These conditions include rickets which leads to weak and soft bones, or a genetic condition called achondroplasia.

    Health Conditions

    • A number of health conditions can affect growth and lead to short stature. A child with heart, kidney, or inflammatory bowl disease may not reach his full growth potential. Other conditions that can hinder growth include, but are not limited to, asthma, celiac disease, an underactive thyroid, sickle cell anemia, juvenile arthritis and diabetes. Genetic conditions such as Down syndrome and Turner syndrome can also cause short stature.

    Growth Hormone Deficiency

    • A child with a growth hormone deficiency may grow normally until they are two or three years old, after which growth slows significantly or almost comes to a halt. A child with a growth hormone deficiency will be a lot shorter than her peers and may have a face that looks younger than her age. If it is determined short stature is caused by this condition a child may be given growth hormone injections to increase growth rate.

    Malnutrition

    • In order to grow and thrive a child's body needs adequate amounts of nutrients. In some cases a child's slow growth rate or appearance of being smaller than other children his age is because he is not getting enough of the right foods to eat and is malnourished.

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