Increased height in diabetes mellitus corresponds to the predicted and the adult height

This study was conducted to analyse the effect of childhood-onset diabetes mellitus on adult height. The height at time of diagnosis of 35 children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) was compared with growth reference data. Predictions of the adult height were made at the time of diagnosis using the target height and the Tanner-Whitehouse II method. The adult height was compared with both the predicted values and the height of healthy adults. The height at time of diagnosis of the prepubertal children was increased compared with growth reference data, in contrast to pubertal children who had normal heights. Only the prepubertal boys were taller at time of diagnosis. The adult height of the prepubertal patients was taller than growth reference data. The mean adult height in all patients did not differ significantly from the predicted heights. In conclusion, the increased height at the start of IDDM in prepubertal children persists until adulthood.