Growth hormone treatment can help short children grow to a taller final height, a new study suggests, whether or not they have a hormone deficiency.
In a study of more than 150 children, researchers in Sweden found that children treated with growth hormone gained an average of nearly eight centimetres, with some gaining as many as 20 centimetres in height.
The researchers found that a number of factors can influence how well a child responds to GH treatment.
"There are many variables known to affect the growth response to GH treatment, such as birth length and early growth during the first years of life," lead study author Dr. Kestin Albertsson-Wikland, professor at the Goteborg Pediatric Growth Research Center at the University of Gothenburg, said in a statement.
"Our study also found that children from parents of normal height respond better to treatment than those from short parents."
The study will be published in an upcoming edition of The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Growth hormone is released by the pituitary gland to promote growth of the human body.
Previous research has determined that GH is an effective treatment for shorter children who have GH deficiencies. However, the effect of GH in non-GH deficient children had yet to be studied.
For their study, the researchers divided the children into three groups. One group received a low dose of GH, another group received a high dose of GH and the third group did not receive any GH. The researchers then followed the children for 20 years.
The researchers said this is the first randomized controlled study that used two different GH doses and had such a long follow-up period.
The team will conduct further studies to learn how to individualize the dose of GH based on a child's individual characteristics.
