Normal growth in the short normal prepubertal child: the Wessex Growth Study

Objective The study aimed at defining the normal rate of growth for short, prepubertal children, and comparing their pattern of growth with those of average stature.Setting Community based.Design Observation of an unselected population of 109 very short, normal prepubertal children (<3rd height centile) and 107 controls matched for age and sex (10th to 90th centile).Main outcome measuresHeight, velocity, change in height standard deviation score, from 6 to 9 years of age.Results The absolute mean rate of growth was significantly different between groups—short normal 5.3 cm/year, controls 5.9 cm/year—corresponding to velocities on the 25th and 50th centiles, respectively. The relative growth rates, however, as shown by the changes in height standard deviation score (short normal 0.10 (SD 0.22), controls 0.10 (SD 0.24) did not differ, and each group remained close to its original 3rd and 50th centiles. Two short children showed “catch up” growth after adoption, but, otherwise, the divergence from their orig...