Effect of Growth Hormone on Adult Height of Children Born Small for Gestational Age

Growth hormone leads to taller adult height, but the clinical importance of that gain is variable.

Growth hormone therapy is approved for children (age, ≥2 years) who were born small for gestational age (SGA) and remain short. Side effects, cost, and debate about the magnitude of the effect make this treatment controversial. Investigators conducted a meta-analysis of four randomized controlled clinical trials that involved 391 SGA children who received growth hormone or no treatment and were followed until adulthood.

Therapy started at a mean age of 8.6 years, and mean duration of treatment was 7.3 years. At the end of treatment, mean height gain was 9.5 cm in the growth-hormone group and 1.6 cm in the untreated group. The mean difference between groups in adult height (5.3 cm) was statistically significant. Results were similar when anal…

Reviewing Author

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)