Adult Height in Individuals With Turner Syndrome
In a retrospective study, Sybert reviewed the adult heights of 66 individuals with karyotype-documented Turner syndrome. Sixty of them were 18 years of age or older and had completed growth. Most patients' karyotypes were 45X (n = 40). Karyotype had no effect on adult height. There was also no difference in mean adult height between those who had received androgens or not (mean height 148.1 cm v 146.3 cm). Adult height was equally not influenced by parental heights, early (< 14 years) or late administration of androgens, the duration of androgen therapy, or the age of initiation of estrogen replacement. Based on these findings, Sybert recommended against the use of androgens to increase adult height in patients with Turner syndrome. She further cautioned that delaying estrogen replacement beyond midpubertal years (14 to 16 years of age) for the purpose of increasing ultimate height may not be warranted.
