Fat distribution in short-stature children born small for gestational age

Effect of treatment with growth hormone on body composition and metabolic profile of short children born small for gestational age

OBJECTIVE

To assess the effect of recombinant growth hormone (rGH) on body composition and metabolic profile of prepubertal short children born small for gestational age (SGA) before and after 18 months of treatment.

METHODS

It is a clinical, non-randomized, and paired study. Children born SGA, with birth weight and/or length <-2 standard deviations (SD) for gestational age and sex, prepubertal, born at full term, of both genders, with the indication for treatment with rGH were included. The intervention was performed with biosynthetic rGH at doses ranging from 0.03 to 0.05 mg/kg/day, administered subcutaneously, once a day at bedtime. Total lean mass (LM) and total fat mass (FM) were carried out using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and the metabolic profile was assessed for insulin, glycemia, IGF-1 levels and lipid profile.

RESULTS

Twelve patients (nine girls, 8.17±2.39 y) were evaluated; three patients dropped out of the study. There was an increase of LM adjusted for length (LMI) (p=0.008), LMI standard deviation score (SDS) adjusted for age and sex (p=0.007), and total LM (p<0.001). The percentage of body fat (BF%) and abdominal fat (AF) remained unaltered in relation to the beginning of treatment. Among the metabolic variables, blood glucose remained within normal levels, and there was a reduction in the number of participants with altered cholesterol (p=0.023).

CONCLUSIONS

The effect of rGH treatment was higher on LM than in FM, with increased LM adjusted for length and standardized for age and sex. Glycemia remained within the normal limits, and there was a decreased number of children with total cholesterol above the recommended levels.

Growth hormone effect on body composition of children born small for gestational age: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of GH treatment on the body composition of children born with SGA.

METHODS

This study is a systematic review of the literature. CINAHL, Embase; Medline/Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science were searched from inception to March 2022.

RESULTS

Four studies met the inclusion criteria, with an intervention time of 1 to 3 years, using doses from 0.03 to 0.07 mg/kg/day of GH. Bone densitometry by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) with whole-body scans was the most used method to assess body composition. Most studies (n = 3) had SGA children as a control group with the same characteristics as the case group; the mean age was similar between the groups (minimum of 5.1 ± 1.4 years and maximum of 6.7 ± 1 0.8 years) and all participants had an average height ≤ -3DP. The Lean Mass (LM) and Fat Mass (FM) outcomes of the studies were not presented in a standardized manner; thus, they cannot be compared. There was a significant increase in LM in the group treated with GH in relation to the pre-treatment period and in comparison, to the untreated control group. Three studies showed a significant decrease in FM at the end of the intervention period, and in two studies, this decrease occurred in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the differences in the presentation of results and in the evaluation periods, the results of the studies showed that growth hormone favors the gain and maintenance of lean mass, and it also affects fat mass reduction and redistribution.