A longitudinal PRINTO study on growth and puberty in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus

Objective To obtain longitudinal data on growth/puberty in a large-scale, multi-national prospective cohort of juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Data from 331/557 (59.4%) patients ≤18 years old with juvenile SLE in active phase, with anthropometric data available at four follow-up visits, were studied. Results There was a significant reduction in parent-adjusted height z score with time in females and males (p 426 mg/kg (OR: 3.6). Conclusions The children at risk of having a negative effect on height and pubertal development are prepubertal and peripubertal children treated with >400 mg/kg cumulative dose of corticosteroids.