Parent-specific adjustments for evaluation of recumbent length and stature of children.

A clinical "parent-specific" method for evaluating recumbent length and stature of children, allowing for the stature of parents, is presented. This method uses midparent stature and allows adjustment of recumbent length (birth to 3 years) and stature (3 to 18 years) of US children relative to National Center for Health Statistics growth charts. The method is based on parent-child relationships for 586 midparent-child pairs participating in the Fels Longitudinal Study, and on more than 16,000 serial measurements of recumbent length and stature. The method provides a clinical tool to separate the normal genetic contribution of parental stature to stature of children from other factors that affect stature such as malnutrition or disease.