Effects of Early Initiation of Growth Hormone Therapy on Different Auxological Parameters in Growth Hormone Deficient Children: Experience from an Indian Tertiary Care Center

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of early initiation versus late growth hormone in improving the predicted adult height in growth hormone deficiency (GHD) children.

Methods: A retrospective study of 550 GHD children with short stature, who had taken rGH for duration of minimum 12 months were included. They were divided into groups of less than 8 years and more than 8 years of age based on the initiation of growth hormone therapy. Their pretreatment and post-treatment auxological parameters were evaluated.

Results: There were 148 children in less than 8 years group and 402 children in more than 8 years old group. In 8 years or younger age group, the pre-treatment mean height of -2.015 SDS improved to -0.7753 SDS after one year of treatment. There was an improvement in the mean height from -2.0447 SDS to -1.2658 SDS post-treatment in more than 8 years group. The pre- and post-treatment difference between the Z score of height, weight, and BMI were statistically significant (<0.001).

Conclusion: A significant height improvement occurred in both the groups' children after 1 year of GH treatment but the gain in final adult height was better when initiated less than 8 years of age. No significant side effects were noted during this period.