Age, ethnicity
FGM is not invariably a rite of passage between childhood and adulthood but is often performed on much younger children. Girls are most commonly cut shortly after birth to age 15. In half the countries for which national figures were available in 2000–2010, most girls had been cut by age five. Over 80 percent (of those cut) are cut before the age of five in Nigeria, Mali, Eritrea, Ghana and Mauritania. The 1997 Demographic and Health Survey in Yemen found that 76 percent of girls had been cut within two weeks of birth. The percentage is reversed in Somalia, Egypt, Chad, and the Central African Republic, where over 80 percent (of those cut) are cut between five and 14. Just as the type of FGM is often linked to ethnicity, so is the mean age. In Kenya, for example, the Kisi cut around age 10 and the Kamba at 16.A countrys national prevalence often reflects a high sub-national prevalence among certain ethnicities, rather than a widespread practice. In Iraq, for example, FGM is found mostly among the Kurds in Erbil (58 percent prevalence within age group 15–49, as of 2011), Sulaymaniyah (54 percent) and Kirkuk (20 percent), giving the country a national prevalence of eight percent. The practice is sometimes an ethnic marker, but it may differ along national lines. For example, in the northeastern regions of Ethiopia and Kenya, which share a border with Somalia, the Somali people practise FGM at around the same rate as they do in Somalia.
Some Turners stigmata, such as cubitus valgus and shortened fingers, are related to SHOX gene dosage effects.A number of the external manifestations of Turner syndrome are focused on the limbs, hands, and feet. Lymphedema at birth is one of the classic features of the syndrome; though it often resolves during toddlerhood, recurrence in later life is frequent, often without apparent cause. Cases where the retained X chromosome was inherited from the mother more often experience lymphedema than those where it was from the father. As a consequence of lymphedemas effects on nail anatomy, females with Turner syndrome frequently have small hypoplastic nails. Shortened metacarpal bones, particularly the fourth metacarpal, are a frequent finding. The body shape of individuals with Turner syndrome is frequently quite broad and stocky, as the growth deficiency is more pronounced in the length of bones than in their width. Scoliosis is common in Turner syndrome, and is seen in 40% of girls without growth hormone treatment.Facial features associated with Turner syndrome include prominent ears, a low hairline, a webbed neck, a small chin with dental malocclusion, and downslanting palpebral fissures (the opening between the eyelids). These are thought to be related to lymphedema during the fetal period, specifically to the presence and resorption of excess fluids in the head and neck region. Neck webbing is a particularly distinctive trait of Turner syndrome, leading to many neonatal diagnoses.