title: Adult height in girls with delayed pubertal growth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Boys with constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP) with early reduction in relative height before the onset of puberty will have adult height (AH) clearly below their target height (TH). Characteristics of growth in girls with CDGP are poorly known. We examined whether girls with CDGP attain their TH and whether early reduction in height SDS influences their AH. We also investigated effects of low-dose estrogen on AH.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated growth of 39 women (7 treated with low-dose estrogen) with CDGP history. We compared AH between estrogen-treated and untreated subjects, and used multiple linear regression to investigate the influence of various growth characteristics, e.g. height SDS changes between different ages in childhood, on AH.
  
  
  RESULTS
  AH was similar in estrogen-treated and untreated subjects. Reduction of height SDS between 3 and 8 years was significantly associated with the difference between AH and TH (regression coefficient 0.8, 95% confidence interval 0.1-1.5). Overall, 49% of subjects had AH >0.50 SDS below TH.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A proportion of CDGP girls do not attain AH consistent with their TH. Reduction in height SDS in childhood predicts smaller AH. Low-dose estrogen treatment does not seem to influence AH in girls with CDGP.
authors: Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. karoliina.wehkalampi@helsinki.fi
authors: Karoliina
authors: K
authors: Wehkalampi
authors: Katarina
authors: K
authors: Päkkilä
authors: Tiina
authors: T
authors: Laine
authors: Leo
authors: L
authors: Dunkel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001827:Body Height; D002648:Child; D004967:Estrogens / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011628:Puberty, Delayed / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens