Background: 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. Methods: 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. Findings: 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 Conclusions: 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