17 years old boy having height 5’5
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17 years old boy having height 5’5 Dads ht-5’8
17 years old boy having height 5’5 Dads ht-5’8 Mom ht-5’3 His dad is concerned if his ht will increase or not. Prescribe tests which should be done. And he has complain of headache in between (migraine like) n backache since childhood. But the main convern is height
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"Short Stature"[MeSH Terms] AND evaluation
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pediatric short stature evaluation bone age midparental height guidelines adolescent headache red flags
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https://www.aafp.org/afp/2015/0701/p43
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PMID: 41723458
At 17 years, whether he will grow further depends mainly on pubertal stage and bone age, not just current height.
Height estimate
- Boy: 5 ft 5 in (about 165 cm)
- Father: 5 ft 8 in (about 173 cm)
- Mother: 5 ft 3 in (about 160 cm)
Mid-parental (target) height for a boy
= (father's height + mother's height + 13 cm) ÷ 2
= (173 + 160 + 13) ÷ 2 = 173 cm, about 5 ft 8 in
= (father's height + mother's height + 13 cm) ÷ 2
= (173 + 160 + 13) ÷ 2 = 173 cm, about 5 ft 8 in
Usual target range is roughly ±8.5 cm, or approximately 5 ft 5 in to 5 ft 11 in. So he is at the lower end of his family-based expected range, not necessarily abnormally short.
However, headache plus concern about growth makes a proper assessment important. A plot of his past heights and his growth velocity over the previous 1 to 2 years is more informative than one height measurement.
First appointment: what should be assessed
See a pediatric endocrinologist or pediatrician soon. They should document:
- Accurate standing height, weight, BMI, arm span and body proportions
- All prior height measurements, ideally from age 5 onward
- Pubertal development (Tanner stage, testicular size, facial/body hair, voice change)
- Diet, sleep, chronic bowel symptoms, fatigue, medication history, family pattern of late puberty
- Blood pressure, thyroid examination
- Full neurologic and eye/fundus examination because of headaches
- Back examination, posture/scoliosis screen, neurologic examination
Tests that are reasonable to discuss with the clinician
Essential first test
- Bone-age X-ray of the left hand and wrist
- This estimates skeletal maturity and whether growth plates may still be open.
- Normal bone age with normal growth rate can support familial short stature.
- Delayed bone age may occur with constitutional delay of growth/puberty, hypothyroidism, growth hormone deficiency, or chronic illness. Swanson's Family Medicine Review, short stature section.
Baseline blood and urine tests
- CBC with differential
- ESR and/or CRP
- Comprehensive metabolic panel: electrolytes, kidney function, liver enzymes, calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase
- Urinalysis
- Thyroid tests: TSH and free T4
- Celiac screening: tissue transglutaminase IgA and total IgA
- Fasting glucose or HbA1c if clinically indicated
These look for anemia, chronic inflammation, kidney/liver disease, thyroid disease, celiac disease, and other systemic causes. AAFP's evaluation table includes CBC, metabolic panel, inflammatory markers, thyroid testing, celiac screening, and urinalysis as targeted screening tests.
Hormonal tests, preferably ordered/interpreted by pediatric endocrinology
- IGF-1 and IGFBP-3
- Screening markers for the growth hormone axis. A random “growth hormone level” is generally not useful because GH secretion is pulsatile.
- LH, FSH, and morning total testosterone
- Particularly important if puberty seems delayed or incomplete at 17.
- Prolactin and morning cortisol/ACTH only if the endocrinologist finds features suggesting pituitary dysfunction.
Headache-directed testing
- MRI brain with dedicated pituitary views, with contrast, should be considered urgently if:
- growth has slowed markedly or puberty is delayed
- abnormal IGF-1/pituitary hormone tests
- visual changes or abnormal visual fields
- vomiting, seizures, focal weakness/numbness, or abnormal neurologic/eye examination
- headache is progressive or worse on lying down/coughing/straining.
Headache with impaired growth can rarely point to hypothalamic-pituitary disease, so this combination should not simply be assumed to be migraine. Pediatric headache assessment should include growth parameters, neurologic examination, blood pressure, and fundoscopy for papilledema. The Harriet Lane Handbook, p. 735.
Backache
- Standing spine X-ray only if examination shows scoliosis, kyphosis, limb-length discrepancy, deformity, focal bony tenderness, or persistent significant pain.
- MRI spine is not routine, but is appropriate if he has neurologic signs, pain waking him at night, fever, weight loss, trauma, bladder/bowel symptoms, or abnormal X-ray/examination.
Go to urgent care or emergency care now if headache has any of these
- Sudden “worst-ever” or thunderclap onset
- Progressive worsening pattern
- Repeated vomiting
- Blurred/double vision, loss of vision, or visual-field problems
- Confusion, fainting, seizure
- Weakness, numbness, unsteady walking, speech difficulty
- Fever with neck stiffness
- Headache worse lying flat, coughing, or straining
These are recognized pediatric headache red flags. The Harriet Lane Handbook, p. 736; see also headache red-flag guidance.
About increasing height
If bone age shows open growth plates and puberty is delayed, he may still have meaningful growth remaining. If growth plates are nearly fused or fused, medicines, supplements, stretching, or “height-increase” products will not increase height. Do not start testosterone, growth hormone, or supplements without pediatric endocrinology supervision. Growth hormone is used only for specific diagnoses and only while growth plates remain open.
A recent systematic review also found major inconsistency in how children with short stature are tested, supporting a history- and examination-guided approach rather than indiscriminate testing (Mameli et al., 2026).
Lh fsh in males too?
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male delayed puberty LH FSH evaluation
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male delayed puberty evaluation LH FSH testosterone pediatric endocrinology
Yes. LH and FSH are measured in males too.
They are pituitary hormones that regulate the testes:
- LH stimulates Leydig cells in the testes to produce testosterone.
- FSH acts mainly on Sertoli cells and supports sperm production and testicular development.
For a 17-year-old being evaluated for possible delayed puberty or reduced growth, clinicians may order:
- Early-morning total testosterone
- LH
- FSH
- Often also prolactin, TSH/free T4, and IGF-1, depending on examination and bone-age result.
Interpretation has to be done with age-, puberty-stage-, and lab-specific reference ranges:
| Pattern | Possible implication |
|---|---|
| Low testosterone + high LH/FSH | Testicular problem, called primary hypogonadism |
| Low testosterone + low or inappropriately normal LH/FSH | Delayed puberty or a hypothalamic/pituitary cause |
| Normal pubertal testosterone, LH and FSH | Puberty is likely progressing normally |
At 17, if he has not had clear puberty signs, especially testicular enlargement, voice deepening, and pubertal growth spurt, this needs pediatric endocrinology assessment. The Pediatric Endocrine Society specifically lists early-morning testosterone, LH, FSH, and bone age as common tests for boys with delayed puberty (PES guidance).
Lh fsh in males too?
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Yes. LH and FSH are normal male hormones and are useful tests in a 17-year-old if puberty or growth is delayed.
- LH tells the testes to make testosterone.
- FSH helps testicular development and sperm production.
For this boy, order them with an early-morning total testosterone, ideally interpreted by a pediatric endocrinologist. They help distinguish delayed puberty from testicular or pituitary causes.
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