Short Children Not Necessarily Hormonal Disorders, Here's How to Recognize It

JAKARTA - Monitoring child growth and development is an important part of parenting. In addition to ensuring ideal body weight, height is also one indicator that reflects whether the growth process takes place according to age.

Not a few parents who start to worry when they see their child seems shorter than their peers.

These concerns are often immediately associated with hormonal disorders. In fact, short body conditions in children are not always a sign of health problems. In many cases, heredity or genetics are the main cause of shorter children's posture.

So, how do you tell the difference between a child who is short because of genetic factors and one who has a hormonal disorder?

Children's Specialist, Subspecialist of Endocrinology at Pondok Indah Hospital, Prof. Aman Bhakti Pulungan, explained that distinguishing the two conditions is not always easy, especially in Indonesia which still uses international growth curves as a reference.

"In Indonesia, because the reference is above our average. (Tall) the average Indonesian is 164.5 to 165 cm, the most important thing is to make sure first, is this child short sick or not?" said Prof. Aman in an online media discussion at Pondok Indah Hospital, recently.

However, parents are still encouraged to regularly monitor their child's growth curve. Growth charts can give an idea of whether a child's height is developing according to the proper pattern or is showing signs that need to be watched out for.

According to Prof. Aman, children who are short in stature due to genetic factors generally still show a consistent growth pattern. Their growth curve tends to decrease but remains parallel or parallel to the normal curve according to their age.

Conversely, if the cause is a growth hormone disorder, the slowing of height usually occurs more drastically. The growth curve will appear to drop sharply in a relatively short time so that it becomes a signal that the child needs further examination.

"If due to hormonal disorders, the growth rate will drop significantly. For example, in children aged 0 to 12 months, the growth increase is 25 cm, if one to two years it is 12.5 cm. If the child's height is far below the standard for his age and the growth seems to slow down over time, immediately consult the child to a pediatrician," continued Prof. Aman.

Periodic monitoring of growth is an important step so that each disorder can be recognized early.

Parents also need to make the right evaluation, then the doctor can determine whether the short posture experienced by the child is a normal variation due to genetic factors or related to a medical condition that requires special treatment.

Diagnosis and therapy carried out as early as possible are expected to help children reach their optimal height potential according to their age, as well as support their overall quality of life and growth and development.