Prepubertal and pubertal growth, timing and duration of puberty and attained adult height in patients with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) detected by the neonatal screening programme for CH - a longitudinal study

OBJECTIVE We have evaluated parameters of growth, the pubertal process and attained adult height in patients with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) of various aetiologies, diagnosed by the neonatal screening programme, and followed up longitudinally. To the best of our knowledge, no such data are avail...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical endocrinology (Oxford) 1997-12, Vol.47 (6), p.649-654
Main Authors: Dickerman, Zvi, De Vries, Liat
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Body Height
Child
Congenital Hypothyroidism
Drug Administration Schedule
Female
Growth
Humans
Hypothyroidism - blood
Hypothyroidism - diagnosis
Hypothyroidism - therapy
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Neonatal Screening
Puberty
Thyrotropin - blood
Thyroxine - blood
Thyroxine - therapeutic use
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:OBJECTIVE We have evaluated parameters of growth, the pubertal process and attained adult height in patients with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) of various aetiologies, diagnosed by the neonatal screening programme, and followed up longitudinally. To the best of our knowledge, no such data are available in the published literature. Our aim was to define the most important factors affecting these parameters. PATIENTS AND MEASUREMENTS Thirty patients with CH (20 females and 10 males) diagnosed by neonatal screening (dysgenetic (n = 15), ectopic thyroid (n = 11), and enzymatic defect (n = 4)), treated with levo‐thyroxine (L − T4) since the age of ≤ 4 months, and followed up at intervals of 1–6 months for a mean period of 11.4 (range 5–19.6) years were evaluated. Detailed anthropometric measurements were performed by the same trained nurse, and pubertal stages were evaluated according to Tanner's criteria for breast or genitalia and pubic hair. Serum T4 and TSH levels were measured at each clinic visit using commercial kits. Bone age (BA) was determined at 6–12 month intervals using the Greulich & Pyle method. Seventeen patients attained adult height at the time of the report. RESULTS Mean L − T4 dose of 7.9 (range 5.2–14.0) to 2.4 (range 1.3–3.4) μg/kg/day at various ages corrected the serum free T4 (f‐T4) levels to normal (> 10 pmol/l) in 95% of determinations, and the TSH level was reduced to 
ISSN:0300-0664
1365-2265
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2265.1997.3181148.x