What are the causes of increase in the physical problems among children ?
Answers
1. Familial short stature. This means a child's height is part of their family's pattern of inherited short height.
2. Familial tall stature. This means a child's height is part of their family's pattern of inherited tall height.
3. Constitutional delay of growth and pubertal development. This means a child tends to be shorter than average and enters puberty later than average, while growing at a normal rate. This may be inherited. These children tend to catch up in time and reach their normal adult height.
4. Illnesses that affect the whole body (systemic diseases). This includes ongoing malnutrition, digestive tract diseases, kidney disease, heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, or chronic severe stress. Any of these conditions can cause growth problems.
5. Endocrine (hormone) diseases. Growth can be affected by some conditions that disrupt hormones. Thyroid hormone is essential for normal bone growth. The pituitary gland at the base of the brain secretes several hormones, including growth hormone. Growth hormone deficiency can result from injuries to the pituitary gland or brain. Cushing syndrome can impair height and cause weight gain. Precocious puberty is a condition caused by hormone problems. It often causes fast growth and tall height compared with other children of the same age. But growth stops at an early age. As a result, children with precocious puberty may be short as adults.
6. Gigantism. Children will grow faster than normal if their pituitary gland makes too much growth hormone.
7. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). This means growth of a baby in the uterus is slowed. This can be caused by many factors, such as smoking during pregnancy or not enough prenatal care. The baby is born smaller in weight and length than normal.
8. Genetic disorders. This includes Turner syndrome, Down syndrome, and achondroplasia. Turner syndrome happens when having too many, too few, or disrupted chromosomes results in health problems. It is caused by one missing X chromosome. This genetic disorder occurs only in girls. It causes poor growth and delayed or no puberty. Down syndrome is another common genetic disorder causing poor growth and short stature. It results from an extra 21st chromosome. Achondroplasia is the most common type of dwarfism, resulting in a problem changing cartilage to bone. It causes a child’s arms and legs to be short. It also causes a large head and other features.
Many disorders that can cause growth problems are idiopathic. This means their cause may not be fully known or understood.