Utility of mid-parental height in predicting linear growth among school-aged children: a cross-sectional study

Ravi Teja Meda; Lokeswari Balleda; Sravani Kolla; Chandrasekhara Reddy Thimmapuram

doi:10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20261535

Authors

Ravi Teja Meda Department of Pediatrics, Sri Ramachandra Children’s and Dental Hospital, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India
Lokeswari Balleda Department of Pediatrics, Sri Ramachandra Children’s and Dental Hospital, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India
Sravani Kolla Department of Pediatrics, Sri Ramachandra Children’s and Dental Hospital, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India
Chandrasekhara Reddy Thimmapuram Sri Ramachandra Children's and Dental Hospital

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20261535

Keywords:

Children, Projected height, Mid parental height

Abstract

Background: Aim was to evaluate the correlation between height of children aged 5-12 years and parental heights, including mid-parental height (MPH).

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2022 to April 2024 at a tertiary care children’s hospital in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. A total of 580 children aged 5-12 years were included. Heights of children and parents were measured using a standardized stadiometer. MPH was calculated using sex-adjusted formulas. Data normality was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, and non-parametric tests were applied as appropriate.

Results: Among the participants, 58.45% were males. The mean age was 101.65±23.4 months, and mean height was 127.72±13.38 cm. Mean father’s height was 165.8±7.24 cm, mother’s height was 156.23±6.62 cm, and mean MPH was 162.11±8.91 cm. Overall, 33.45% of children were taller than their MPH, 63.62% were within the expected range, and 2.93% were below it. Children’s height showed significant positive correlations with father’s height (r=0.275), mother’s height (r=0.291), and MPH (r=0.223) (p<0.0001). No significant association was found with age or gender.

Conclusions: Nearly one-third of children exceeded their MPH, suggesting early growth acceleration influenced by environmental and nutritional factors, supporting the need to revise Tanner’s formula and update growth charts.

References

Tanner JM, Israelsohn W. Parent-child correlations for body measurements of children between the ages of one month and 7 years. A Ann Hum Genet. 1963;26:245-53.

Koziel S. Relationships among tempo of maturation, midparent height, and growth in height of adolescent boys and girls. Am J Hum Biol. 2001;13(1):15-22.

Tanner JM. Normal growth and techniques of growth assessment. Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1986;15(3):411-51.

Tanner JM, Whitehouse RH, Marshall WA. Prediction of adult height from height, bone age, and occurrence of menarche, at ages 4 to 16 with allowance for midparent height. Arch Dis Child. 1975;50(1):14-26.

Velayutham K, Selvan SSA, Jeyabalaji RV, Balaji S. Prevalence and etiological profile of short stature among school children in a South Indian population. Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2017;21(6):820-2.

Su PH, Wang SL, Chen JY. Estimating final height from parental heights and sex in Taiwanese. Hum Biol. 2007;79(3):283-92.

Bereket A, Bugur IS, Guran T, Atay Z, Ekberzade A, Gurbanov Z. Reconsideration of mid-parental height calculation. ESPE. 2016;86:813.

Atluri S, Bharathidasan K, Sarathi V. Tanner’s target height formula underestimates final height in Asian Indians-A cross-sectional observational study. Indian J Endocr Metab. 2018;22(4):441-4.

Wright CM, Cheetham TD. The strengths and limitations of parental heights as a predictor of attained height. Arch Dis Child. 1999;81(3):257-60.