Growth failure in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology
• Growth and Development

Background:

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition affecting children and adolescents.
• Concerns exist regarding the long-term impact of IBD on linear growth and final adult height.
• Understanding growth patterns in pediatric IBD is crucial for effective management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of permanent linear growth impairment in young adults with a history of childhood or early adolescent IBD.
• To identify factors associated with growth deficits in this population.
• To evaluate the accuracy of different prediction methods for assessing ultimate adult height.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of medical records from 48 young adults diagnosed with IBD during Tanner stages I-III.
• Prediction of adult height using height-for-age percentile, Bailey-Pinneau (BP), and Roche-Wainer-Thissen (RWT) methods.
• Comparison of predicted adult heights with actual achieved final heights.

Main Results:

• Permanent growth failure was observed in 19-35% of subjects, depending on the assessment method.
• 31% of subjects exhibited height deficits identified by at least two prediction methods.
• Longer duration of corticosteroid use was significantly associated with impaired growth (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Permanent impairment of linear growth is common in individuals with a history of pediatric or early adolescent IBD.
• Clinically meaningful deficits in adult height can result from childhood IBD.
• There is a need for novel therapeutic strategies to mitigate growth problems in pediatric IBD patients.