Body Height and Weight of Patients with Childhood Onset and Adult Onset Thyrotoxicosis

Abstract

The present study has compared body height and weight of thyrotoxic female patients of childhood onset and adult onset. The body height of 141 out of 143 (99%) adult-onset thyrotoxic patients was within the range of mean±2SD for the age-matched general Japanese female population. On the other hand, in 42 patients with childhood-onset thyrotoxicosis, 6 (14%) had their height being greater than the mean+2SD of general population, and 34 (81%) were taller than the mean value. In 86 patients with siblings, 42 (49%) were at least 2cm taller than their sisters, and 26 (30%) were more than 2cm shorter than their sisters. The body weight of 27 out of 42 (68%) patients younger than 20 years was not decreased but was even greater than the mean value for the age-matched general population. The results indicate that excessive thyroid hormone in vivo enhances body height in humans. The increased body weight in some young patients suggests that enhanced dietary intake due to increased appetite in hyperthyroidism has overcome the energy loss with increased metabolism.