Is the response to growth hormone in short children born small for gestational age dependent on genetic or maternal

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Otto Mehls1, A Lindberg, M Bettendorf

  • 1Division of Paediatric Nephrology, University Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Heidelberg, Germany. Otto.Mehls@med.uni-heidelberg.de

Hormone Research
|August 20, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Genetic and maternal factors do not explain growth response to growth hormone (GH) therapy in children born small for gestational age (SGA). Further research is needed to understand variations in treatment outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Genetics
  • Maternal Health

Background:

  • Children born small for gestational age (SGA) often exhibit growth deficits.
  • Growth hormone (GH) therapy is used to improve growth in SGA children.
  • Variability in GH therapy response necessitates understanding underlying factors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if genetic or maternal/environmental risk factors explain growth response variability in SGA children treated with GH.
  • To analyze the influence of specific conditions like Silver-Russell syndrome, congenital heart defects, maternal infections, and smoking on GH therapy outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Secondary analysis of a phase III trial involving 135 short prepubertal German children with SGA.
  • Data included patient demographics, height standard deviation scores (SDS), and GH dosage.
  • Statistical analysis, including multivariate analysis, was used to identify influencing factors.

Main Results:

  • GH therapy increased growth velocity by 4.5 cm/year and height SDS by 1.0 SDS.
  • No significant differences in growth response were observed between subgroups based on genetic or maternal risk factors.
  • Multivariate analysis did not identify Silver-Russell syndrome, congenital heart defects, maternal infections, or smoking as independent predictors of growth velocity.

Conclusions:

  • Retrospectively analyzed genetic and maternal/environmental risk factors for SGA do not appear to explain the variance in GH therapy response.
  • Preliminary findings suggest these factors are not primary drivers of differential growth outcomes.
  • Larger prospective studies are required to confirm these results and elucidate factors influencing GH response in SGA children.
Abstract

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