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Endocrine profile of children with intrauterine growth retardation

Aviva Fattal-Valevski1, Hagit Toledano-Alhadef, Avraham Golander

  • 1The Institute for Child Development and Pediatric Neurology Unit, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. afatal@post.tau.ac.il

Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology & Metabolism : JPEM
|September 1, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Children with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) show lower cortisol levels, potentially indicating hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction. Non-catch-up growth is linked to significantly lower insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Growth and Development
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) is a primary cause of childhood short stature.
  • While many children with IUGR achieve catch-up growth, a significant portion do not.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the endocrine profiles of children with IUGR.
  • To compare hormonal levels between children with IUGR and appropriate-for-gestational-age controls.
  • To identify potential endocrine factors contributing to growth failure in IUGR.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed endocrine profiles including thyroid function, prolactin, cortisol, C-peptide, and IGF-I in 57 children with IUGR (aged 2-10 years).
  • Compared these profiles with 30 appropriate-for-gestational-age controls.
  • Subdivided the IUGR group into 'catch-up' and 'non-catch-up' growth subgroups for analysis.

Main Results:

  • Cortisol levels were significantly lower in the IUGR group compared to controls (p <0.05).
  • Thyroid hormones, prolactin, and C-peptide levels were similar between groups.
  • The 'non-catch-up' subgroup exhibited significantly lower IGF-I levels compared to the 'catch-up' subgroup (p <0.001).

Conclusions:

  • Reduced cortisol in IUGR children may suggest impaired hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function.
  • Lower IGF-I levels in the 'non-catch-up' group may play a role in their persistent growth failure.
  • Endocrine evaluation is crucial for understanding growth outcomes in IUGR.
Abstract

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