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Updated: Jun 3, 2025
Measurements of Motor Function and Other Clinical Outcome Parameters in Ambulant Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Published on: January 12, 2019
Height development and multiple bone health indicators in children aged 2-12 years with Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Bingying Wang1, Linyuhan Zhou1, Shuangru Li1
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, China Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Ministry of Education, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Insights
Children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) experience significant short stature, worsened by prolonged corticosteroid (GC) use. Monitoring bone health markers is crucial for managing height development in DMD patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Neuromuscular Disorders
- Bone Metabolism
Background:
- Short stature is a common complication in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
- Understanding disease-specific mechanisms and treatment influences on growth is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a height growth curve for early-stage DMD.
- To identify markers influencing height growth in DMD.
- To inform pathological mechanisms, growth management, and bone health strategies.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective, cross-sectional study.
- 348 participants with DMD aged 2-12 years.
- Data collected from West China Second Hospital (Jan-Oct 2023).
Main Results:
- DMD boys exhibit slower growth than the average population, falling behind after age two.
- Short stature occurs before and after corticosteroid (GC) exposure; prolonged GC use worsens growth retardation.
- Independent factors influencing height include BMI, BMD, β-CTX, delayed bone age (BA), and GC duration.
Conclusions:
- Short stature in DMD is linked to overall bone health status.
- Integrated monitoring of bone indicators is necessary for effective clinical management.
- This study supports early monitoring of height and related factors for bone health management in DMD, reducing future complications.
Introduction:
Short stature is a frequent complication of DMD, and its pathomechanisms and influencing factors are specific to this disease and the idiosyncratic treatment for DMD.
Purpose:
To establish the height growth curve of early DMD, and evaluate the potential influencing markers on height growth, provide further evidence for pathological mechanism, height growth management and bone health in DMD.
Methods:
A retrospective, cross-sectional study of 348 participants with DMD aged 2-12 years was conducted at West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2023 to October 2023.
Results:
The growth curve for 2-12 years old boys with DMD indicates a slower growth rate compared to the average population. At age two, children with DMD have a similar height to their peers, but gradually falls behind afterwards. Short stature was observed in children with DMD before and after GC exposure, and prolonged GC use exacerbated the retardation. BMI (β = -0.47, p = 0.007), BMD (β = -0.005, p = 0.014), β-CTX (β = 0.001, p = 0.002), delayed BA (β = 0.417, p < .001), GC duration (β = -0.006, p = 0.047) were independent influencing factors of height. Relevant bone health markers showed different sequential changing patterns.
Conclusion:
The high proportion and progression of short stature are associated with the broad bone health status. Different bone indicators have different sensitivities and specificities and need to be considered together for clinical monitoring of bone health. This study provides evidence for the early monitoring of height development and relevant factors as part of bone health management in DMD, to minimize the occurrence of bone-related complications later in life.
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