Short stature, growth hormone deficiency, and social anxiety.
OBJECTIVE
We have reported high rates of social phobia in growth hormone-deficient (GHD) adults who had been treated with growth hormone during childhood. This follow-up study was conducted to determine whether the increased social phobia observed in GHD subjects was secondary to the effects of short stature.


METHODS
Twenty-one age- and sex-matched non-GHD short adults were evaluated for social anxiety and compared with the previously studied 21 GHD subjects.


RESULTS
Thirty-eight percent (8 of 21) of GHD and 10% (2 of 21) of short subjects met DSM-III-R criteria for social phobia. GHD subjected scored significantly higher than short subjects on the following self-report questionnaires: Fear of Negative Evaluation (p = .03), Fear Questionnaire (p = .01), Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (p = .01), Beck Depression Inventory (p = .007), and the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire-harm avoidance subscale (p = .0004).


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that the high prevalence of social phobia in GHD adults is not explained by short stature alone.
Nicholas
L M
LM
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-7160, USA.
Tancer
M E
ME
Silva
S G
SG
Underwood
L E
LE
Stabler
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D004392:Dwarfism / Q000097:blood / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000172:deficiency*; D006801:Humans; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 / Q000097:blood; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D010555:Personality Inventory; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*
D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3; D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I