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Sex differences in patients referred for evaluation of poor growth

Adda Grimberg1, Jessica Katz Kutikov, Andrew J Cucchiara

  • 1Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Abramson Research Center, PA 19104-4318, USA.

The Journal of Pediatrics
|February 4, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Girls with poor growth are referred later and more often diagnosed with organic disease than boys. This suggests potential diagnostic delays for girls and over-evaluation of healthy boys with short stature.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Growth Disorders
  • Medical Diagnostics

Background:

  • Short stature and poor growth evaluations are common in pediatric endocrinology.
  • Understanding sex differences in referral patterns is crucial for timely diagnosis and appropriate care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate and compare sex-based differences in referrals for poor growth evaluations.
  • To identify potential disparities in diagnostic pathways and outcomes between boys and girls.

Main Methods:

  • Chart review of new patient encounters for short stature or poor growth at a specialized center.
  • Analysis of patient growth characteristics, underlying pathologies, and pre-referral investigations.
  • Comparison of referral data between male and female patients.

Main Results:

  • Significantly more boys (182) than girls (96) were referred for poor growth.
  • Referred girls were shorter relative to population norms and mid-parental heights compared to boys.
  • A higher percentage of girls (41%) had organic disease versus boys (15%), while more boys were healthy (72%) vs girls (48%).

Conclusions:

  • Sex differences in short stature referrals may lead to delayed diagnoses in girls.
  • Healthy boys referred for short stature may undergo unnecessary or overzealous evaluations.
  • Referral patterns and diagnostic outcomes for poor growth differ significantly by sex.
Abstract

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