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GnRHa therapy shows no effect on final height in girls with early puberty
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In girls who experience moderately early puberty, gonadotropin-releasing human analogue treatment had no effect on final height, according to study findings published in the Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology.
Şenay Sava-Erdeve, MD, faculty of medicine, department of pediatrics, division of pediatric endocrinology at Ankara University in Turkey, and colleagues evaluated 49 girls with early puberty (mean age at diagnosis, 8.65 years) to determine the effects of gonadotropin-releasing human analogue (GnRHa) treatment on final height. The mean height standard deviation (SD) score among all participants was 1.39, target height SD score was –0.22 and predicted final height SD score was –0.11.
Participants were divided into three groups: treatment group with a bone age up to 10.5 years (group 1; n = 18; mean age at diagnosis, 8.09 years), treatment group with a bone age older than 10.5 years (group 2; n = 23; mean age at diagnosis, 9.03 years) and a group in which treatment approval could not be obtained (group 3; n = 8; mean age at diagnosis, 8.83 years).
Mean height SD scores among the three groups were 0.96 for group 1, 1.78 for group 2 and 1.22 for group 3. Target height SD scores among the three groups were –0.26 for group 1, –0.4 for group 2 and 0.38 for group 3. Predicted final height SD scores were 0.08 for group 1, –0.45 for group 2 and 0.39 for group 3.
The three groups had similar final heights (P = .403), and final height was positively correlated with target height and height at diagnosis. Final height increased by 0.213 times for each 1 cm increase in height at diagnosis and by 0.459 times for each 1 cm increase in target height.
“Factors such as age at menarche and the psychological condition of the child should be considered rather than height when deciding whether to start GnRHa treatment in girls showing signs of moderately early puberty,” the researchers wrote. – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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