Impact of inflammatory bowel disease on pubertal growth.
BACKGROUND
Puberty is thought to be commonly affected in adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).


OBJECTIVE
To determine the impact of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) on the pubertal growth spurt.


METHODS
Retrospective study of 30 boys with CD (CD-M), 11 girls with CD (CD-F), 14 boys with UC (UC-M) and 12 girls with UC (UC-F). Pubertal growth was assessed by calculating peak height velocity SDS (PHV SDS), height SDS at diagnosis (Ht(Diag)) and height SDS at PHV (Ht(PHV)) and age at PHV (Age(PHV)). Systemic markers of disease activity were also collected.


RESULTS
Altered parameters of pubertal growth were observed in the CD groups compared to the normal population: in the CD-M group, median Ht(Diag) was -0.56 (p = 0.001) and median Age(PHV) was 14.45 years (p = 0.004), and in the CD-F group, median Ht(Diag) was -1.14 (p = 0.007) and Ht(PHV) was -0.79 (p = 0.039). Individually, 8/30 CD-M cases had one or more parameter affected: 2 boys had Ht(Diag )<-2, 3 boys had Ht(PHV) <-2, 2 boys had an Age(PHV) >2 years above population mean, and 2 boys had a PHV SDS <-2. In the whole group, Age(PHV) showed an association with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r = 0.4; p = 0.005) and an inverse association with BMI (r = 0.4; p = 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Disorders of pubertal growth are more likely to occur in CD and, particularly, in boys.
Developmental Endocrinology Research Group, University of Glasgow, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, UK.
A
A
Mason
S
S
Malik
R K
RK
Russell
J
J
Bishop
P
P
McGrogan
S F
SF
Ahmed
D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D000465:Algorithms; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D057238:Growth Charts; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D011627:Puberty / Q000502:physiology*; D011628:Puberty, Delayed / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies