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Childhood GH treatment does not increase adulthood diabetes risk
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Growth hormone treatment in children with idiopathic isolated growth hormone deficiency, idiopathic short stature or short stature in those born small for gestational age does not significantly increase the risk for diabetes in adulthood, according to study findings.
Jean-Claude Carel, MD, of Hôpital Robert Debré in Paris, and colleagues evaluated data from the Safety and Appropriateness of Growth Hormone Treatments in Europe project on 5,100 children with idiopathic isolated GH deficiency, idiopathic short stature or short stature in children born small for gestational age who began GH treatment between 1985 and 1996. Information from the French national health insurance database was used to determine the delivery of diabetes drugs in 2009 and 2010 among the participants.
Follow-up was a mean 19.2 years since initiation of GH treatment, and the mean age of participants was 30.1 years on Dec. 31, 2010.
During 2010, 26 participants were identified as having diabetes; 17 were treated with insulin and nine with oral drugs only. Overall, there was no difference in the risk for diabetes between participants treated with GH and the general population. Similarly, no significant difference was found between participants treated with insulin and those treated with oral drugs only.
An evaluation of women revealed no significant difference in the risk for gestational diabetes for participants treated with GH compared with the general population.
“We found no increase in the risk of treated diabetes in subjects receiving GH treatment during childhood, with a mean follow-up of 19 years, despite the inclusion of subjects born small for gestational age in the cohort,” the researchers wrote. “Further studies are required, on groups at higher risk of diabetes and groups with a longer follow-up. This study demonstrates the value of the long-term follow-up of selected groups of patients through epidemiological studies on medical administrative databases.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: Carel reports financial ties with Lilly and Pfizer. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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