Are Constitutional Delay of Growth and Familial Short Stature Different Conditions?

Children between 2 and 4 standard deviations below the mean height for age with no specific cause to account for their short stature are usually considered to represent either constitutional delay of growth (CDG) or familial short stat ure (FSS). This study was undertaken to determine whether 167 patients who were referred to our clinic for short stature could be divided into two distinct populations that fit the criteria of CDG and FSS. When the patients were arti ficially divided into 2 subgroups based on skeletal age greater or less than 2 standard deviations below the mean, no significant difference in growth rates or midparental heights could be found between them. Height ages were sig nificantly more delayed in the group with greater skeletal age delay. Mid parental height of our total population of short children was less than the mean midparental height of normal American children. It was concluded that our patients did not distribute into these two clear-cut entities. Whether they repre sented one continuum or two largely overlapping populations could not be decided on the basis of our data.