Altered skeletal growth in Perthes' disease: an anthropometric study of children from rural India.

In contrast to the features of Perthes' disease (PD) in England, children with PD in South west India are older and from rural areas. To test whether rural Indian children with PD demonstrate abnormalities in skeletal growth similar to those noted in English children, we studied 52 affected children and 100 normal controls. Each child had a detailed anthropometric evaluation; various body segments were measured. The study demonstrated that rural Indian children with PD showed impaired skeletal growth, with the feet most severely affected. The pattern of growth alteration was almost identical to that of English children with PD. The results suggest that despite difference in age of onset and rural-urban differences in Indian and English children with PD, a common etiologic factor responsible for skeletal retardation is active in both groups.