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Near-Adult Height After Growth Hormone Treatment in Children Born Prematurely-Data From KIGS

Margaret C S Boguszewski1, Martin Carlsson2, Anders Lindberg2

  • 1Department o f Pediatrics, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
|June 2, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Growth hormone (GH) treatment significantly improves height in children born prematurely, especially before puberty and in those with GH deficiency. The degree of prematurity did not impact growth outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Growth and Development
  • Hormone Therapy

Background:

  • Children born prematurely often experience growth deficits.
  • Growth hormone (GH) therapy is used to improve height in these children.
  • Previous studies indicate initial height improvements with GH treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the influence of prematurity on near-adult height (NAH) following GH treatment.
  • To analyze growth response in preterm children based on gestational age and GH status.
  • To identify predictors of growth response to GH therapy in this population.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Pfizer International Growth Database (KIGS) for children born preterm and treated with GH.
  • Included 586 preterm children with available data on gestational age, birth weight, and NAH.
  • Analyzed height standard deviation scores (SDS) changes from GH initiation to NAH, with parental height as a predictor.

Main Results:

  • GH treatment led to significant height improvement (1.82 SDS in AGA, 1.08 SDS in SGA) over approximately 8 years.
  • Children born appropriate for gestational age (AGA) showed a greater growth response than those small for gestational age (SGA).
  • Parental height was the strongest predictor of growth response; degree of prematurity did not influence outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • GH therapy effectively improves height in preterm children, particularly during prepubertal stages and in cases of GH deficiency.
  • The extent of prematurity did not significantly affect the overall growth response to GH treatment.
  • GH treatment was well-tolerated and demonstrated significant efficacy in achieving near-adult height.
Abstract

Keywords:
growth hormonegrowth hormone treatmentpretermshort stature

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