An aetiological profile of short stature in the Indian subcontinent

Objective: To determine the aetiological causes of short stature in a devel oping region of the world. Methodology: A retrospective analysis was made of data from 193 subjects wh o were primarily evaluated for short stature in the Endocrinology Departmen t, Institute of Medical Sciences, Kashmir, India. These subjects had a heig ht of more than 3 standard deviations (SD) below the mean for their age and sex, and were seen over a decade (January 1987 to December 1996). A logica l and comprehensive clinical and investigative protocol was followed to ide ntify the aetiology of short stature. Results: Growth hormone deficiency was the commonest identifiable cause of short stature and accounted for 22.8% of cases. Thirty-six subjects (18.7%) had a normal variant short stature. Renal tubular acidosis was diagnosed i n 10.4%, primary hypothyroidism, malnutrition and hypothalamic syndrome in 7.8% each, and growth hormone insensitivity syndrome in 4.1% cases. Conclusions: We conclude that, in addition to growth hormone deficiency and normal variant short stature, distal renal tubular acidosis and growth hor mone insensitivity syndrome are significant causes of short stature in Indi a.