Related Experiment Videos
Linear growth in prepubertal children with atopic dermatitis
L Patel1, P E Clayton, G M Addison
1Department of Child Health, Booth Hall Children's Hospital, Manchester, UK.
Archives of Disease in Childhood
|November 3, 1998
Summary
Children with atopic dermatitis show normal growth initially but experience decreasing height velocity and increasing bone age delay as they approach adolescence, similar to constitutional growth delay.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Dermatology
- Growth and Development
Background:
- Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition affecting children.
- Concerns exist regarding potential impacts of AD on prepubertal growth patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal growth trajectory in prepubertal children with atopic dermatitis.
- To identify factors influencing growth patterns in this population.
Main Methods:
- Assessed height, height velocity, weight, skin fold thickness, and bone age over two years.
- Compared 80 prepubertal children with AD to 71 healthy controls.
- Analyzed influence of AD severity, topical glucocorticoid use, and asthma comorbidity.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in height or height velocity SDS between patients and controls initially.
- Inverse correlation between age and height/height velocity SDS in AD patients.
- Increased proportion of AD patients with very low height velocity and delayed bone age over time.
- Bone age delay correlated with age, AD duration, and negatively with height parameters.
Conclusions:
- Prepubertal children with AD do not exhibit short stature compared to controls.
- Growth velocity declines and bone age delays as AD patients approach adolescence.
- Observed growth pattern resembles constitutional growth delay.