Adult height in girls with Turner syndrome treated with low-dose estrogens and androgens

To determine if low dosages of estrogens and androgens administered to girls with Turner syndrome adversely affected their adult height.

A nonrandomized control trial of nine girls.

The endocrine clinic at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas, an academic referral center.

Participants had chromosomal defects consistent with Turner syndrome. Informed consent was obtained in accordance with institutional review board procedures. Eligibility criteria included an absence of previous hormone treatment. No one withdrew from this study because of adverse effects.

Hormonal replacement therapy was initiated with conjugated estrogen 0.15 mg and fluoxymesterone 1 mg administered daily.

Outcome measurements were a comparison of the final heights following treatment versus the predicted adult heights prior to treatment.

The predicted adult height in these children prior to treatment was 140.0 +/- 4.4 cm (mean +/- SD); the actual adult height was 139.63 +/- 4.1 cm. The difference was 0.37 +/- 3.54 cm, which was not statistically significant by Wilcoxon signed-rank test (p = 0.23). The 95% confidence interval on this difference ranged from -3.1 to 2.3 cm, which indicates a true mean height loss of no more than 3.1 cm or a true mean gain of no more than 2.3 cm.

Our results indicate that hormone replacement therapy with low dosages of conjugated estrogens and androgens starting at 10-11 years of age in children with Turner syndrome does not adversely affect actual adult height.