Influence of gender and pubertal stage at diagnosis on growth outcome in childhood thyrotoxicosis: results of a collaborative study

• Published in: Clinical endocrinology (Oxford) Vol. 64; no. 1; pp. 53 - 57
• Main Authors: Cassio, A., Corrias, A., Gualandi, S., Tato', L., Cesaretti, G., Volta, C., Weber, G., Bona, G., Cappa, M., Bal, M., Bellone, J., Cicognani, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01-01-2006; Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adolescent; Antithyroid Agents - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Endocrinopathies; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Graves Disease - drug therapy; Graves Disease - physiopathology; Graves Disease - surgery; Growth; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Menarche; Methimazole - therapeutic use; Non tumoral diseases. Target tissue resistance. Benign neoplasms; Propylthiouracil - therapeutic use; Puberty; Regression Analysis; Retrospective Studies; Sex Factors; Statistics, Nonparametric; Thyroid. Thyroid axis (diseases); Thyroidectomy; Vertebrates: endocrinology; Endocrinopathy; Human; Puberty; Clinical stage; Prognosis; Growth; Hyperthyroidism; Thyroid diseases; Sex; Diagnosis; Child; Endocrinology
• ISSN: 0300-0664; 1365-2265
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.2005.02415.x

Summary
Objective   To evaluate the influence of sex as well as pubertal stage at diagnosis on the growth outcome of childhood thyrotoxicosis.
Design  Retrospective, collaborative study.
Patients and methods   Longitudinal auxological evaluation in 101 patients (M/F 23/78) for 4·7 ± 3·1 years subdivided according to pubertal stage at diagnosis into prepubertal (group I) and pubertal (group II).
Results   At diagnosis height and bone age (BA) standard deviation score (SDS) were positive both in girls and boys of groups I and II. In boys of group II, height SDS was significantly higher than in girls of the same group (P = 0·007) and in boys of group I (P = 0·026). During the follow‐up, in group I, height SDS remained positive without significant differences between boys and girls, and in group II, height SDS remained significantly lower in girls than in boys. The age at onset of puberty and the age at menarche were within the normal range. Final height (FH) was within target height (TH) range in all groups The FH SDS and the height gain (FH–TH) were similar in girls and in boys in group I and significantly higher in boys than in girls (P < 0·05) in group II. The boys of group II showed a mean height gain significantly greater than that found in all the other groups.
Conclusions   Despite the advancement of BA at presentation, there were no adverse effects on subsequent growth and FH; the growth outcome seems to be better in boys than in girls in group II.