Dwarfism: causes, symptoms and associated disorders

The process by which humans pass from the prenatal stage to adulthood is complex and fraught with potential complications. There are, for example, numerous genetic diseases that affect height and that can significantly worsen a person's quality of life if the appropriate measures are not taken. Dwarfism, for example, is one of these anomalies..

People who present dwarfism in any of its variants may not only suffer the consequences of having to interact with spaces and architectures that are not designed for them, but rather that besides they usually present some complications related to the movement and use of the joints and, on the other hand, they are at greater risk of feeling psychological discomfort related to self-esteem and self-concept.

Let's see what this anomaly consists of.

What is dwarfism?

Dwarfism is an alteration in the height of the person, which is well below average. In other words, taking as a reference the average height in each population group divided by sex, the person with dwarfism does not reach the minimum marked by three standard deviations from the mean.

Why is it not a disease?

Dwarfism is not itself a disease or disorder, but rather the expression of certain developmental disorders that can cause diseases to appear in parallel with slow or limited growth.

In a strict sense, people with dwarfism are only characterized by having a much shorter height than normal. which marks statistical normality, which in itself does not necessarily entail health problems significant.

In practice, however, this does entail problems, especially regarding weight distribution and its effect on the joints, since many of the individuals with this alteration are not only shorter than normal but their proportions are also very different from those of an adult person without dwarfism.

For example, in many cases the head is proportionally very large (macrocephaly) and the extremities are very short, which causes the thorax to lean forward and the head to lean back to maintain an upright position. maintain a stable center of gravity. This causes problems over time.

However, the characteristics presented by people with dwarfism vary greatly depending on the cause of this alteration.

The distinction between short stature and dwarfism

Usually, this "height threshold" that serves to define where dwarfism begins is located at approximately 140 cm in men and 160 cm in women. Although this criterion can be qualified, since it also depends on the height of the parents, it is understood that even in very short people it is normal for the size of the offspring tend to approach statistical normality, a phenomenon known as regression to the mean.

In addition, it is possible to take other measurements as a reference to determine cases of dwarfism. For example, the presence of macrocephaly (size of the head larger than expected in proportion to what the rest of the body occupies) is associated with many cases of this anomaly, although it can also appear in tall people normal.

In cases where the person is unusually short but no disease associated with this is found characteristic or a specific cause and the body proportions are normal, they are considered not to be examples of dwarfism and They are called "idiopathic short stature", assuming that they are the simple expression of inherited genes.

Types of dwarfism according to the causes

As we have seen, dwarfism is an anomaly derived from the expression of certain diseases that they do not have to resemble each other in their origin.

The most common diseases that cause the appearance of dwarfism are the following:

achondroplasia

This sickness produces about 70% of cases of dwarfism. It has a genetic root and is already expressed before birth, causing the extremities and thorax not to grow as much as the head due to anomalies in the formation of cartilage.

Celiac Disease

It has been seen that the disease it produces problems in cases where gluten is ingested it is also associated with the appearance of dwarfism as one of its symptoms.

growth hormone problems

In this type of dwarfism the cause is found in a deficient secretion of growth hormone by the pituitary gland of the brain. These cases can be corrected by providing more of this substance artificially.

Rickets

A deficiency in bone development due to problems in mineralizing these structures with sufficient amounts of phosphorus and calcium. in this disease the bones are weak and break easily, in addition to not reaching the expected size.

Possible psychological interventions

People with dwarfism do not have to develop psychological problems, but their problems with social fit and the possible appearance of discomfort related to the symptoms of associated diseases can make them a potentially vulnerable population group.