title: Does preterm birth influence the response to growth hormone treatment in short, small for gestational age children?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether prematurity has an independent influence on the response to GH treatment in short, small for gestational age (SGA) children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A longitudinal 3-year GH study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 392 prepubertal non-GH-deficient, short SGA children, comprising 138 preterm (< 36 weeks) and 254 term (>or= 36 weeks) children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Height, weight, head circumference, skinfolds and serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels were measured before start of GH treatment and after 6 months, 1, 2 and 3 years of treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Preterm short SGA children were significantly lighter and shorter at birth after correction for gestational age than term short SGA children (P < 0.001). At start of GH treatment, preterm children were significantly shorter than term children when height was corrected for target height (TH). Preterm children were also significantly leaner as shown by a lower body mass index (BMI) standard deviation score (SDS) and a lower sum of four skinfolds SDS. Prematurity had no influence on childhood IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels. The response to GH treatment was similar for preterm and term SGA children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Within a population of short SGA children, prematurity is associated with a smaller size for gestational age and a shorter height corrected for TH and leaner phenotype in childhood. The response to GH treatment is similar for preterm and term short SGA children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Division of Endocrinology, Erasmus MC Sophia, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. s.dekort@erasmusmc.nl
authors.forename: Sandra W K
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: de Kort
authors.forename: Ruben H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Willemsen
authors.forename: Danielle C M
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: van der Kaay
authors.forename: Hugo J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Duivenvoorden
authors.forename: Anita C S
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Hokken-Koelega
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology; D001827:Body Height / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 / Q000097:blood; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D013006:Growth Hormone