Tall stature – colloquially called tall or giant stature – (synonyms: Gigantism; hypersomia; proportioned tall stature; giant stature; ICD-10-GM E34.4: constitutional tall stature, ICD-10-GM E22.0: acromegaly and pituitary tall stature) occurs when a person’s height is above the 97th percentile.
Tall stature is classified into:
- Macrosomia (tall stature): males over 1.92 meters and females over 1.80 meters.
- Gigantism (giant stature): men over 2.00 meters and women over 1.85 meters.
Tall stature can occur as a norm variant and is usually constitutional (familial tall stature). Other causes are:
- Genetic diseases
- Hormonal or endocrine disorders
Tall stature can be a symptom of many diseases (see under “Differential diagnoses”).
Course and prognosis: course and prognosis depends on the cause of the tall stature.
