The physical characteristics of young males with varicocele

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Abstract
To determine if there is an association with habitus in young males with varicocele, as adolescent boys with varicoceles appear to be mostly taller and leaner than age-matched controls. Retrospectively reviewing our records we obtained the height and weight of 43 consecutive males (mean age 14.3 years, range 11-19) under long-term follow-up for varicocele. The body mass index (BMI), heights and weights were compared with values from the respective growth charts for boys aged 2-20 years (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), and the statistical significance of differences determined using the chi-square test. The height and weight distributions of patients with varicocele indicated a significant deviation from normal in the 25-95th percentiles for stature and in the 25-75th for weight (P < 0.05). Deviations in BMI were insignificantly different from normal at each percentile. These results indicate that patients with varicocele are significantly taller and heavier than age-matched controls. Future studies to address the key areas identified in this study will help to further assess the distribution of the incidence of varicocele in closely defined subsets of adolescent growth and development, which may provide some insight into the cause of varicoceles.