[The causes of short stature in children in ambulatory care].

The data relating to all children referred over a 10-year period to the out-patient department of a children's hospital in a West German city because of growth retardation were retrospectively analyzed. A diagnosis of short stature was made in 306 patients. The proportion of boys to girls was 2.5:1. The average age of the patients was about 10 years (0.75-17.4); 9.8% of the children were less than 4 years old, and 5.9% were over 16 years. In 68.3% of the patients the Study revealed constitutional delay of growth or familial short stature or a combination of two. Twelve children (3.9%) were demonstrated to have growth hormone deficiency.