Short Stature

A person with short stature, or restricted growth, does not grow as tall as other people of the same gender, age, and ethnicity. The person’s height is below the 3rd percentile.
Short stature can be a variant of normal growth, or it may indicate a disorder or condition.
Growth rate is an important indicator of overall health.
Early intervention can prevent future problems in many cases.
Normally, at 8 years of age, a child’s arm span is around the same as their height. If these measurements are out of proportion, this may be a sign of disproportionate short stature (DSS)

Causes

Growth depends on a complex range of factors, including genetic makeup, nutrition, and hormonal influences.
The most common cause of short stature is having parents whose height is below average, but around 5 percent of children with short stature have a medical condition.

Conditions that can underlie short stature include:

• Undernutrition, due to a disease or lack of nutrients
• Hypothyroidism
• Growth hormone deficiency
• A tumor in the pituitary gland
• Diseases of the lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, or gastrointestinal tract
• Conditions that affect the production of collagen and other proteins
• Some chronic diseases, such as celiac disease and other inflammatory disorders
• Mitochondrial disease, which can affect the body in different ways, including growth