Table 3

General characteristics of the study population in the university hospital (n = 398) and the general hospital (n = 144)


University hospital
General hospital
Difference between 2 hospitals (p-value)

Gender Male: n (%)
219 (55%)
65 (45%)
0.04
Ethnicity N (%)

     Dutch/European
291 (73.1%)
127 (88.2%)
0.01
     Turkish
31 (7.8%)
6 (4.2%)

     Moroccan
11 (2.8%)
1 (0.7%)

     Others:
54 (13.6%)
10 (6.9%)

     Unknown
11 (2.8%)
0 (0%)

Age at time of referral (yrs): mean (SD)
9.1 (4.0)
8.4 (4.7)
0.2
HSDS at time of referral: mean (SD)
-2.3 (0.8)
-1.9 (0.9)
< 0.01
THSDS: mean (SD)
-0.7 (1.0)
-0.2 (0.9)
< 0.01
HSDS – THSDS at time of referral: mean (SD)
-1.6 (0.8)
-1.7 (1.0)
0.7
Delta HSDS in last year before referral: mean (SD)
-0.08 (0.3)
-0.10 (0.3)
0.5
Dysmorphic features: n (%)
22 (5.5%)
2 (1.4%)
0.1
Disproportion: n (%)
15 (3.8%)
2 (1.4%)
0.08

HSDS = height standard deviation score; THSDS = target height standard deviation score

Grote et al. BMC Pediatrics 2008 8:21   doi:10.1186/1471-2431-8-21