With the improvement of people’s living standard and nutrition in China, children’s height is increasing year by year. However, there are many parents who are anxious because their children are short. Some parents bring their children to the doctor only when they reach puberty, which is already too late, because the epiphysis closes faster at puberty, growth slows down significantly and treatment is ineffective. Therefore, short stature should be detected and treated as early as possible in order to achieve good results. What are the criteria for determining short stature in children? What factors cause short stature? Is there any treatment for children with short stature? Below, I will introduce some of these questions.
How to determine short and slow growth
The standard for diagnosing a child as short is below the 3rd percentile of height, i.e., below the figure (cm) for men and women of each age in the table below as short.
Minimum height limit for men and women in urban areas of nine cities in 1995 (cm)
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Age Male Female
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Newborn 47.3 47.0
Half year old 64.7 63.4
1 year 72.3 70.0
2 years 82.7 81.7
3 years 90.0 89.5
4 years 96.0 95.
5 years 102.8 102.0
6 years 108.5 108.4
7 years 113.4 112.6
8 years 118.0 117.4
9 years 122.8 121.8
10 years 126.8 126.8
11 years 131.5 132.3
Age 12 135.8 138.7
Age 13 142.5 144.3
14 years 148.6 146.7
Age 15 155.6 148.1
16 years 158.1 148.6
17 years old 159.0 149.0
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In addition to absolute height, growth rate is more important. There are two peak growth rates in human beings, from 0 to 3 years of age and during puberty. The average height at birth is 50 cm, with a growth of about 25 cm in the first year and about 10 and 8 cm in each of the second and third years. Adolescence (about 14 years for males and 12 years for females) begins with an annual growth of 8 to 12 cm, along with the appearance of male and female sexual characteristics. Growth between the ages of 3 and puberty is 4 to 7 cm per year. Growth rates of less than 4 cm per year or less than 70% before the age of 3 and during the peak growth phase of puberty are considered abnormal.