J Korean Med Sci.  2013 Sep;28(9):1351-1355. 10.3346/jkms.2013.28.9.1351.

Influence of Body Mass Index on the Growth Hormone Response to Provocative Testing in Short Children without Growth Hormone Deficiency

• Lee J
• Yoon J
• Kang MJ
• Lee YA
• Lee SY
• Shin CH
• Yang SW

• KMID: 1793052
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2013.28.9.1351

Abstract

Obesity and its related factors are known to suppress the secretion of growth hormone (GH). We aimed to evaluate the influence of body mass index (BMI) on the peak GH response to provocative testing in short children without GH deficiency. We conducted a retrospective review of medical records of 88 children (2-15 yr old) whose height was less than 3 percentile for one's age and sex, with normal results (peak GH level > 10 ng/mL) of GH provocative testing with clonidine and dopamine. Peak stimulated GH level, height, weight, pubertal status and serum IGF-1 level were measured. Univariate analysis showed that the BMI standard deviation score (SDS) correlated negatively with the natural log (ln) of the peak stimulated GH level (ln peak GH). BMI SDS did not correlate significantly with sex, age, pubertal status, or ln IGF-1 level. BMI SDS correlated negatively with ln peak GH level induced by clonidine but not by dopamine. In stepwise multivariate regression analysis, BMI SDS was the only significant predictor of ln peak GH level in the combination of tests and the clonidine test, but not in the dopamine test. In children without GH deficiency, BMI SDS correlates negatively with the peak GH level. BMI SDS should be included in the analysis of the results of GH provocation tests, especially tests with clonidine.

Keyword

Growth Hormone; Body Mass Index; Clonidine; Dopamine

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Body Height
*Body Mass Index
Body Weight
Child
Child, Preschool
Clonidine/therapeutic use
Dopamine/therapeutic use
Dwarfism/drug therapy
Female
Human Growth Hormone/*analysis
Humans
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I/analysis
Male
Regression Analysis
Retrospective Studies
Clonidine
Dopamine
Human Growth Hormone
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Univariate correlation between BMI SDS and ln peak GH_T (A), ln peak GH_C (B), and ln peak GH_D (C). Abbreviations: Ln peak GH_T, natural log of peak GH level in two tests with clonidine and dopamine; Ln peak GH_C, natural log of peak GH level in the clonidine test; Ln peak GH_D, natural log of peak GH level in the dopamine test; BMI SDS, body mass index standard deviation score.

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