ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Growth hormone (GH) increases lean body mass and reduces fat mass. However, the long-term changes in weight status during growth hormone treatment, according to age and weight status at the onset of treatment, have not previously been reported in large data sets.

Aim: To identify the growth response to GH therapy in underweight versus normal weight short children.

Patients and Methods: We looked at the growth data of 78 short, pre-pubertal children (HtSDS < -2 SDS below the mean for age and sex) with normal GH secretion. They were divided according to their BMI into 19 children with underweight (BMI SDS < -2) and 59 children with normal BMI SDS (> -2). All children received a daily subcutaneous dose of GH (0.03 – 0.05 mg/kg/day) to keep their IGF1 level between 0 and 2SD, for two years, showed that underweight children responded as well to GH treatment as non-underweight children.

Results: Before GH treatment, the underweight group had a significantly lower IGF1 level versus the normal weight group. The age and HtSDS did not differ among the two groups. Treatment with GH for two years was associated with a significant increase in the BMI SDS in the underweight group (BMI-SDS increased by 0.45 SD) but not in the normal-weight group. The HtSDS increased significantly in both groups after GH therapy but the increase was greater in children with normal weight vs those with underweight.

Conclusion: GH therapy for 2 years significantly increased IGF1 level and improved BMI, BMI SDS, and HtSDS in underweight children with ISS. However, the increase in the HtSDS of underweight children was significantly lower compared to ISS children with normal weight.