title: Puberty and pubertal growth dynamics in children with idiopathic short stature.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  As the prognosis for final height is unfavorable for children with idiopathic short stature (ISS), we studied the pubertal growth dynamics in these children, which is a determinant factor in final height.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a retrospective cohort study, we analyzed the pubertal period, age of puberty and peripubertal growth in 50 children with ISS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The onset of puberty occurred later. Growth rate tended to become increasingly subnormal in the prepubertal period and height was -2.45 SD at puberty onset. Growth reaccelerated at this point, which tended to correct the deviation from the mean height, but it was insufficient to obtain a normal final height.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The dynamics of growth in children with ISS showed a distinct pattern in the prepubertal and pubertal periods and puberty is significantly delayed in this population. These patterns could explain the unfavorable prognosis for children with ISS.
authors.affiliation: Service de Pédiatrie 1, Centre Hopitalo-Universitaire Arnaud de Villeneuve, Montpellier, France. a-mariani@chu-montpellier.fr
authors.forename: Aude
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mariani
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jeandel
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paris
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ecochard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001827:Body Height / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008572:Menarche / Q000502:physiology; D011627:Puberty / Q000502:physiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D019382:Human Growth Hormone