Body weight progression and nutritional status of patients with familial short stature with and without constitutional delay in growth
C. V. Solans and F. Lifshitz
Department of Pediatrics, North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY.
To determine whether suboptimal nutrition affected growth deceleration in
patients with constitutional delay of growth (CDG), retrospective weight
and growth data and a cross-sectional nutritional assessment was performed.
Patients studied included 52 CDG children with delayed bone age and 15
children with familial short stature without bone age delay. Body weight
and length-height progression were evaluated from birth to 12 years using z
scores. Clinical anthropometry, biochemical, and dietary evaluation were
performed at the initial evaluation. Significant differences were noted
between patients with CDG and familial short stature in their W/L ratio and
W/H ratio profiles from 4 months to 12 years. Mean creatinine-height index,
retinol binding protein, serum iron, and transferrin saturation values were
lower among young CDG patients. These data suggest that suboptimal
nutrition early in infancy may contribute to the course of CDG.
