Growth Hormone Treatment Improves Cognitive Function in Short Children with Growth Hormone Deficiency

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics
• Growth Hormone Therapy

Background:

• Short stature in prepubertal children can be associated with varying degrees of GH secretion.
• Understanding the impact of GH status and treatment on cognitive function is crucial for these children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between cognitive function and growth hormone (GH) status.
• To evaluate the effects of GH treatment on cognition in short prepubertal children with GH deficiency (GHD) and idiopathic short stature (ISS).

Main Methods:

• A randomized study involving 99 short prepubertal children (3-11 years) with GHD (n=41) or ISS (n=58).
• Children received either a fixed GH dose or an individualized dose for 24 months.
• Cognitive changes, including full-scale IQ (FSIQ) and secondary indices, were assessed using Cohen's d effect sizes.

Main Results:

• GH-deficient children showed significant medium effect size increases in FSIQ (d=0.63), performance IQ (d=0.65), and processing speed (d=0.71).
• Perceptual organization improved only in the ISS group (d=0.53).
• Baseline GH_max and IGF-I_SDS explained 40% of the variance in processing speed changes.

Conclusions:

• IQ, specifically fluid intelligence, significantly increased in children with GH deficiency following treatment.
• Pre-treatment GH/IGF-I axis status was a significant predictor of cognitive improvements.