Growth in girls with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

The height development during childhood and puberty was analyzed in 54 girls with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis by the use of the Infancy Childhood Puberty growth model, which is based on healthy Swedish children. This model adjusts adolescent reference values for height for individual age at pubertal maturation. The scoliotic girls had an above-average height 2 years before the onset of the pubertal growth spurt. However, because they displayed an early pubertal maturation as well as a low pubertal gain in height, their values were only slightly higher than the reference mean values at maturity. The results indicate an increased growth hormone activity in childhood in girls with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.