What are the most common types of dwarfism?
The most frequently diagnosed cause of short stature is achondroplasia, a genetic condition that results in disproportionately short arms and legs. The average height of adults with achondroplasia is 4’0″. Other relatively common genetic conditions that result in disproportionate short stature include spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SEDc), diastrophic dysplasia, pseudoachondroplasia, hypochondroplasia, and osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). As one might expect from their names, pseudoachondroplasia and hypochondroplasia are conditions that have been confused with achondroplasia; diastrophic dysplasia occasionally is, too. OI is characterized by fragile bones that fracture easily.
