Hormonal profiles in children with progressively worsening nutritional status

Changes in body weight and other anthropometric measurements, concentrations of serum albumin and blood glucose and serum insulin, growth hormone, cortisol and thyroxine have been measured in 16 Nigerian children with progressively deteriorating nutritional status over a period of 12 months. While the concentrations of serum albumin and blood glucose, measured under fasting conditions, were normal, fasting serum insulin concentrations fell as the nutritional status became poorer and the concentrations of cortisol and growth hormone rose. The concentration of thyroxine remained within the normal range. The difference between chronological age and the height age (CA-HA), taken as an index of the chronicity of the period of nutritional deprivation, correlated negatively with the insulin concentration (P less than 0.001) and that of thyroxine (P less than 0.00) and correlated positively with the serum levels of cortisol (P less than 0.05). There was no statistically significant correlation with the concentration of growth hormone although its level was elevated in children whose CA-HA was greater than six months. The weight-for-height (expressed as percentage of standard), taken here as an index of the severity of acute nutritional insult, correlated positively with insulin (P less than 0.001) and negatively with growth hormone (P less than 0.001) and cortisol (P less than 0.001) concentrations.