Metabolic benefits of growth hormone therapy in idiopathic short stature.

The US Food and Drug Administration approved use of recombinant human growth hormone (GH) for the treatment of idiopathic short stature (ISS) in children; however, few studies have evaluated metabolic outcomes. This article addresses whether children with ISS treated with GH experience the same metabolic benefits as children with GH deficiency (GHD) treated with GH. A systematic review of all published studies of GH treatment in children with ISS that included data on metabolic outcomes identified five studies. No meta-analysis has been performed.Studies show a metabolic response to GH treatment in children with ISS similar to that observed in children with GHD; effects include a transient decrease in insulin sensitivity and a dose-dependent increase in insulin-like growth factor I. However, no increase in the risk of diabetes was found. Children with ISS seem to benefit from GH treatment in terms of height gain without any severe negative metabolic outcomes.