Differences in infantile growth patterns in Turner syndrome girls with and without spontaneous puberty

The role of prepubertal estrogen in child growth was modeled using Turner's syndrome, comparing growth patterns of girls who later did or did not enter puberty spontaneously. The hypothesis was that TS patients with normal prepubertal estrogen levels would have a different growth pattern from those with subnormal estrogen levels.

Growth data from 78 full-term patients with Turner's syndrome were collected retrospectively. 24/78 later developed spontaneous puberty, (+Pub), and their growth data were compared to TS patients without spontaneous puberty (-Pub). A nonlinear mixed model was fitted using the bi-exponential model.

The growth velocity difference between the -Pub and +Pub groups suggests an early infantile growth advantage in the -Pub group, which disappears before the end of the first year of life; growth velocity remains similar (+/- 1 cm/y) for the next 6 years and declines at age 7-8 years in the +Pub group faster than it does in the -Pub group. Bi-exponential analysis showed that both the 1st (restrictive) and 2nd exponent (forward) were different (p = 0.0003).

Comparison of girls with or without spontaneous puberty suggests a role for estrogen in child growth. Estrogens restrict infantile growth, as well as growth during the mid-childhood spurt.