title: Transient growth deceleration in normal short children. A potential source of bias in growth studies.
abstract: We have examined the records of 21 short children evaluated for growth hormone deficiency and found not to be deficient. Their growth velocity was evaluated for at least 6 months, both before and after testing. Without any specific therapeutic intervention, growth velocity was significantly higher after testing, as compared with before. We attribute this apparent "therapeutic" effect of testing to a selection bias, due to the fact that, in normal clinical practice, children are selected for testing immediately following a period of slow growth, and that decelerations of growth are very often transient. Studies of growth-stimulating treatments using children as their own controls should, for this reason, be interpreted with caution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Polychronakos
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abu-Srair
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Guyda
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood* / Q000172:deficiency / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D013006:Growth Hormone