Metabolic differences between short children with GH peak levels in the lower normal range and healthy children of normal height

Abstract Objective Severe growth hormone deficiency (GHD) leads to several metabolic effects in the body ranging from abnormal body composition to biochemical disturbances. However, less is known regarding these parameters in short children with GH peak levels in the lower normal range during provocation tests. Our aim was to study the metabolic profile of this group and compare it with that of healthy children of normal height. Design Thirty-five pre-pubertal short children ( Results There were no overall significant metabolic differences between the groups. However, in the subgroup analysis, the short children with GH peaks Conclusion The short pre-pubertal children with GH peak levels between 7 and 14 μg/L did not differ significantly from healthy children of normal height but subpopulations within this group show significant metabolic differences.