Intrauterine growth retardation and familial short stature.

Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) is an important cause of small stature in children presenting to paediatric endocrinologists. IUGR has to be differentiated from familial ('constitutional') short stature, where the growth deficit is genetically determined and/or induced by smallness of the mother (maternal constraint). Intrinsic fetal anomalies such as chromosomal abnormalities, primary growth failure syndromes, congenital infections and congenital anomalies are of equal importance with maternal disorders, in particular chronic use of alcohol, tobacco and narcotics, and pregnancy complications like hypertension and pre-eclampsia, in causing fetal growth retardation. The relative importance of placental abnormalities and environmental factors (with the exception of malnutrition) appears to be small. Some catch-up growth of children with IUGR has been observed in about 70% of all cases during the first year of life. Many IUGR children show major or minor birth defects which may be predisposing factors or may also coexist because of common underlying factors producing both small stature and structural anomalies. Since in most children with IUGR adult heights to be expected are below the population range, growth hormone treatment has been tried for many years, but the data available from the literature are not encouraging to date and need to be re-evaluated in controlled long-term trials.