Factors Influencing the One- and Two-Year Growth Response in Children Treated with Growth Hormone: Analysis from an Observational Study

To assess gender-, pubertal-, age-related differences in change from baseline height standard deviation score (ΔHSDS), data from 5,797 growth hormone (GH) naïve pediatric patients (<18 years) with growth hormone deficiency (GHD), multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (MPHD), Turner syndrome (TS), small for gestational age (SGA), Noonan syndrome (NS), and idiopathic short stature (ISS) were obtained from the ANSWER (American Norditropin Studies: Web-enabled Research) Program registry. For patients with SGA, ΔHSDS at year 1 was significantly greater for males versus females (P = .016), but no other gender differences were observed. For patients with GHD, ΔHSDS was greater in prepubertal than in pubertal patients. Younger patients for both genders (<11 years for boys; <10 years for girls) showed a greater ΔHSDS (P < .05 for GHD, MPHD, and ISS). Overall, positive ΔHSDSs were observed in all patients, with greater growth responses in younger prepubertal children, emphasizing the importance of starting GH treatment early.