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Newborn CF screening aids pubertal growth, adult height

Patients in this study who received newborn screening for cystic fibrosis had greater pubertal growth and taller adult height compared with patients who did not receive screening, according to recent research.

“The Wisconsin Randomized Clinical Trial project demonstrated that early diagnosis of cystic fibrosis within weeks of birth provides great opportunity to prevent detrimental nutrition and growth faltering in early infancy; in conjunction with appropriate nutritional therapy, such early growth benefits of newborn screening sustain long-term through puberty and lead to better adult height,” Zhumin Zhang, PhD, from the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in  Wisconsin, and colleagues wrote in their study.

Zhang and colleagues evaluated the pubertal and adult heights of 107 children born between between 1985 and 1994 after newborn screening for cystic fibrosis, according to the abstract. Data was collected from birth until 2012, with the researchers examining peak height velocity (PHV) in patients as adolescents and adults among those who received newborn screening or were in a control group that did not receive screening.

The researchers found 25 patients with meconium ileus had worse pubertal growth and adult height, including 1 patient who did not experience pubertal growth, whereas 18 patients with pancreatic insufficiency experienced normal PHV and adult height, according to the abstract. Zhang and colleagues noted that patients in the screening group had a taller adult height (50th percentile) compared with patients in the control group (29th percentile), which remained consistent after adjusting for genetic potential (32nd percentile vs. 15th percentile; P = 0.006).

A subgroup of 64 patients without meconium ileus and with pancreatic insufficiency received the greatest benefit of newborn screening with similar PHV but taller adult height compared with other patients. Boys in this subgroup who received newborn screening (22 patients)showed a 9.5 cm PHV at 13.5 years compared with the control group who had a 0.6 cm lower magnitude at the same age (P = 0.08). Girls in the subgroup who received screening (10 patients) tended to be older than the control group (12.5 years vs. 11.7 years; P = 0.12), as well as having lower PHV (7.3 cm vs. 7.9 cm; P = 0.33) and later menarche (13.6 years vs. 12.2 years; P = 0.10). – by Jeff Craven

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.