ESPE Abstracts

Background: Obesity and a thicker layer of subcutaneous adipose tissue are more common in Turner syndrome (TS), however, it is assumed that growth hormone (GH) treatment has beneficial effect on their body composition (BC). Objective: To investigate the effect of GH therapy on BC and its relation with metabolic syndrome components in girls with TS during a 10 year-follow-up.

Patients and Methods: 21 girls with TS were described by weight, height, body composition (muscle mass/MM, fat-free mass/FFM, body fat/BF, total body water mass/TBW) and biochemical parameters (glucose, insulin, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, total cholesterol) at the beginning of GH therapy (V0) and after 1st(V1), 3rd (V3), 5th (V5) and 10th (V10) year of GH therapy. BC was determined using TANITA MC-980 and waist circumference (WC).

Results: BMI and BMI z-score increased over time on GH therapy (P<0.05). Increase in MM by 31.6% (V5), in FFM by 32.8% (V5) and 42% (V10) compared to V0 was observed (P=0.031, P=0.013, P=0.021, respectively). BF was reduced after 10 years by 31.5% (P>0.05). TBW increased in each measurement compared to V0 (P<0.05). Correlations between the components of the metabolic syndrome and other analyzed parameters are presented in the Table. No significant correlations were found between body composition parameters, glucose and total cholesterol during GH 10-year follow-up.

Conclusion: GH therapy affects body composition and metabolic criteria in girls with TS, especially during first years of treatment.