Criteria for First-Year Growth Response to Growth Hormone Treatment in Prepubertal Children With Growth Hormone Deficiency: Do They Predict Poor Adult Height Outcome?

Abstract

Objective: Several criteria for first-year growth response (FYGR) to growth hormone (GH) treatment have been proposed. We explored which FYGR criteria predicted best the final height outcome after GH treatment in prepubertal children with GH deficiency (GHD). Design and methods: Height data of 129 GHD children (83 boys) who attained adult height and had been treated with GH for at least 4 consecutive years with at least 1 year before pubertal onset, were retrieved from the Belgian GH Registry. The FYGR parameters were: (1) increase in height (ΔHt) SDS, (2) height velocity (HV) SDS, (3) ΔHV (cm/year), (4) index of responsiveness (IoR) in KIGS prediction models, (5) first-year HV SDS based on the KIGS expected HV curve (HV KIGS SDS), (6) near final adult height (nFAH) prediction after first-year GH treatment. Poor final height outcome (PFHO) criteria were: (1) total ΔHt SDS <1.0, (2) nFAH SDS <1, nFAH SDS <1, and predicted nFAH SDS to predict nFAH SDS <0.35 (40%), HV SDS <1.3 cm/year (36%), IoR <1; predicted nFAH SDS (with GH peak)