Body Height

Women in northern Europe who lost height during middle age faced a greater risk of early death, primarily due to heart disease or stroke, according to an observational study published in BMJ Open.

A polygenic risk score can predict adult short stature among children with accuracy similar to the use of midparental height, according to data published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue therapy is linked to improvement in final adult height and reduced BMI in central precocious puberty, but evidence for other key outcomes is “weak” to indicate benefits or adverse effects, data show.

When talking about treating children with unequivocal growth hormone deficiency, who in the absence of GH therapy have little chance of achieving normal adult stature, the overwhelming majority of endocrinologists would say yes, even though GH has some documented risks and may have some potential theoretical risks. With a condition like idiopathic short statue, the benefit of GH therapy, in general, is not as obvious as with GH deficiency. That forces one to possibly reassess the risk vs. benefits.

Growth hormone deficiency, characterized by the inadequate secretion of GH from the anterior pituitary gland, is a rare disorder among U.S. children, with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 3,500.

Tall stature is associated with lower risk for developing type 2 diabetes, with each 10 cm increase in height associated with a 41% decreased risk for diabetes among men and a 33% decreased risk among women, according to findings published in Diabetologia.