What are the signs and symptoms of Congenital adrenal hyperplasia? The signs and symptoms of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) vary based on many factors including the type of CAH, the age of diagnosis and the sex of the affected person. For example, girls with the severe form of CAH may be born with ambiguous genitalia, which often allows the condition to be diagnosed before other associated health problems such as poor feeding, vomiting, dehydration, and abnormal heart beat, can develop. Males typically appear unaffected at birth even when they have a severe form of CAH and without proper diagnosis, will develop associated health problems within 2-3 weeks after birth. Both genders can experience other symptoms such as early onset of puberty, fast body growth, and premature completion of growth leading to short stature, if they are not treated in early life. People affected by milder forms may not have any signs and symptoms of CAH during childhood. In these cases, a diagnosis may not be made until adolescence or adulthood when the affected person experiences early signs of puberty or fertility problems. Females with this type may have excessive facial or body hair; irregular menstrual periods; and/or acne. There are two main types of CAH: classic CAH, the more severe form, and a milder form called nonclassic CAH. For a detailed description of the signs and symptoms found in each type of CAH, please click here. The Human Phenotype Ontology provides the following list of signs and symptoms for Congenital adrenal hyperplasia. If the information is available, the table below includes how often the symptom is seen in people with this condition. You can use the MedlinePlus Medical Dictionary to look up the definitions for these medical terms. Signs and Symptoms Approximate number of patients (when available) Abnormality of metabolism/homeostasis 90% Accelerated skeletal maturation 90% Cryptorchidism 90% Displacement of the external urethral meatus 90% Female pseudohermaphroditism 90% Hypercortisolism 90% Abnormality of the thorax - Abnormality of the urinary system - Adrenal hyperplasia - Adrenogenital syndrome - Ambiguous genitalia, female - Autosomal recessive inheritance - Clitoromegaly - Congenital adrenal hyperplasia - Decreased circulating aldosterone level - Decreased circulating renin level - Decreased testicular size - Fever - Growth abnormality - Gynecomastia - Hyperpigmentation of the skin - Hypertension - Hypoglycemia - Hypokalemia - Hypokalemic alkalosis - Hypoplasia of the uterus - Hypoplasia of the vagina - Hypospadias - Long penis - Male pseudohermaphroditism - Neonatal onset - Precocious puberty in males - Primary amenorrhea - Renal salt wasting - Short stature - The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) has collected information on how often a sign or symptom occurs in a condition. Much of this information comes from Orphanet, a European rare disease database. The frequency of a sign or symptom is usually listed as a rough estimate of the percentage of patients who have that feature. The frequency may also be listed as a fraction. The first number of the fraction is how many people had the symptom, and the second number is the total number of people who were examined in one study. For example, a frequency of 25/25 means that in a study of 25 people all patients were found to have that symptom. Because these frequencies are based on a specific study, the fractions may be different if another group of patients are examined. Sometimes, no information on frequency is available. In these cases, the sign or symptom may be rare or common.