PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Twice as many boys as girls are
referred to medical specialists for evaluation of short stature or poor
growth, according to a new study.  The imbalance may reflect society's gender
biases about stature, and may have serious health consequences: girls whose
growth failure is caused by an underlying disease may be overlooked, or
experience undue delays in receiving a proper diagnosis.  The results may also
suggest that short but healthy boys are more likely to be subjected to
unnecessary medical evaluations.
    "Growth failure is a very sensitive indicator of a child's overall health,
and should be evaluated with equal care for both boys and girls," said Adda
Grimberg, M.D., F.A.A.P., a pediatric endocrinologist at The Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia who led the research.  "Instead, these referral
patterns may result from social pressures implying that short stature is a
more significant problem in boys than girls."
    The study was published in the February issue of the Journal of
Pediatrics.
    The researchers reviewed the charts of all 278 children referred to the
Diagnostic and Research Growth Center at Children's Hospital in 2001 for new
evaluations of short stature or poor growth.  Because the definitions of short
stature use percentage cutoffs, rather than actual heights, roughly equal
numbers of boys and girls would be expected among the referrals.  Instead, the
research team found that boys outnumbered girls by 182 to 96, nearly a two-to-
one margin.  The gender discrepancies were more pronounced starting at age 9
years.
    Although girls were less likely to be referred than boys, the girls'
height deficits were greater than those for the boys in the study.  In other
words, although all the children in the study were short, the girls were
significantly shorter than were the boys when compared to both the general
population and to predictions based on their parents' heights.
    The most disturbing finding of the study, said Dr. Grimberg, was that 41
percent of the girls were found to have an underlying disease that made them
short, compared to 15 percent of the boys.  Conversely, 38 percent of the boys
were within normal height ranges, compared to 20 percent of the girls.
    "Because our study looked only at the referred children, and not at all
the children who were not referred, the meaning of this difference in
underlying disease is unclear.  It may indicate that diseases are being missed
in girls who are not referred, or that the percentage of boys with disease is
'diluted' by the large numbers of healthy boys who are being referred, or a
combination of the two," said Dr. Grimberg.  "Either way, both sexes lose."
    A broad variety of diseases may cause growth failure -- among them,
hormone deficiencies, Turner syndrome (a chromosome abnormality found only in
females), and gastrointestinal conditions such as celiac disease or
inflammatory bowel disease.  "Many of these diseases have better outcomes when
they are treated early, so a delayed diagnosis can have serious medical
consequences," said Dr. Grimberg.  For example, if celiac disease, an
intolerance to proteins in wheat, goes untreated, it may raise a child's risk
of other autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes or thyroiditis.
    On the other hand, she added, overzealous evaluation of boys who are short
but healthy may carry its own social costs.  "Evaluating and treating healthy
boys reinforces the idea that their height is a medical problem, which may
hurt the boys' self-esteem."  Another factor, added Dr. Grimberg, is the fact
that boys are more likely than girls to receive growth hormone treatment,
which may cost $20,000 to $30,000 per year.  "When growth hormone is
prescribed in the absence of disease, the treatment is cosmetic, not medical."
    Dr. Grimberg concluded that further studies among the general population
of children could reveal the extent to which short girls with underlying
disease are not being diagnosed.  She also said the study highlights the need
for greater attention to proper growth monitoring in children.
    The study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive
and Kidney Diseases (part of the National Institutes of Health) and a grant
from the University of Pennsylvania Trustees Council.  Dr. Grimberg's co-
authors were Jessica Katz Kutikov, M.D., also of Children's Hospital, and
Andrew J. Cucchiara, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine.  All three authors were from the Penn School of Medicine.
    Founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital, The Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia is ranked today as the best pediatric hospital in the
nation by U.S. News & World Report and Child magazine.  Through its long-
standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new
generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major
research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that
have benefited children worldwide.  Its pediatric research program is among
the largest in the country, ranking second in National Institutes of Health
funding.  In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service
programs have brought the 430-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate
for children and adolescents from before birth through age 19.  For more
information, visit http://www.chop.edu.

      Contact:  Joey McCool
                Phone: (267) 426-6070
                McCool@email.chop.edu

SOURCE  The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia