Understanding and Discovering Growth Disorders

All parents are concerned about their child’s growth. We all want our little ones to grow up happy and healthy. Every child is unique. Some children are taller, some are shorter and others fall somewhere in the middle. Even if your child is slightly shorter than their peers, it does not necessarily mean that something is wrong.1 However, as parents, we need to notice the warning signs of growth disorders in our children and take appropriate measures.

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What are some of the signs that indicate your child might have growth disorders?

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Understanding the types of growth disorders

  • Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) occurs when the body produces insufficient growth hormone and will present with short stature, slow height gain and delayed bone age.5
  • Idiopathic short stature (ISS) refers to the condition of having a significantly shorter height of more than 2 standard deviations (SD) below the normal population for the same age and gender and no identifiable disorder is present.6‍
  • Small for gestational age (SGA) describes newborn infants with birth weight of more than 2 SD below for the number of weeks of pregnancy.7‍
  • Turner syndrome is a genetic disorder that occurs in girls and primarily presents with short stature, delayed puberty and fertility issues.5‍
  • Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disease that affects metabolism, altering your child’s body and behaviour. Children with PWS between the ages of 2 and 6 years may experience feeding difficulties in early infancy, followed by increased appetite.8

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What can you do to check if your child has growth disorders?1,9

Measure your child’s height regularly by using a measuring tape. Plot it onto a growth chart to monitor the growth velocity*.
This can be a fun exercise for you to engage with your little ones.

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*Growth velocity is defined as the change in measurements or increments in weight and length/height between the time periods.10

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If you suspect that your child is growing at a slower rate, consult a healthcare expert such as a paediatrician and paediatric endocrinologist.

The doctor will ask some questions about your child’s health and enquire about any specific symptoms your child may have, including family history and previous medical experience, to provide the best advice for your child.9

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With knowledge and support, we can detect potential growth disorders early for timely treatment.

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References

1. Children’s Mercy. When Your Child is Short: AParent’s Guide to Short Stature. Available at: https://news.childrensmercy.org/when-your-child-is-short-a-parents-guide-to-short-stature/. Accessed on 17 October 2023.

2. Growth assessmentand monitoring during childhood.  Ann Acad Med Singapore47:149-55, 2018

3. WebMD. What to Know About Growth Disorders.Available at: https://www.webmd.com/children/what-to-know-about-growth-disorders. Accessed on 23 February 2024.

4. NHS. Turner Syndrome. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/turner-syndrome/symptoms/. Accessed on 23 February 2024.

5. Reh CS, Geffner ME. Somatotropin in the treatment of growth hormonedeficiency and Turner syndrome in paediatric patients: A review. Clin Pharmacol. 2010;2:111–22.

6. Wu D, Chen R,Chen S, et al. Finaladult height of children with idiopathic short stature: A multicenter study onGH therapy alone started during peripuberty. BMC Pediatr. 2020;20:138.

7. Osuchukwu OO, Reed DJ. Small for GestationalAge. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island, FL: StatPearlsPublishing; 2024. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK563247/.Accessed on 23 February2024.

8. FerminGutierrez MA, Mendez MD. Prader-Willi Syndrome. In: StatPearls[Internet]. Treasure Island, FL: StatPearls Publishing; 2024. Available at:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553161/. Accessed on 23 February 2024.

9. Yau D, Saleh DS. Case 1: An eight-year-oldgirl with short stature. Paediatr Child Health. 2014;19(4):177–8.

10.Fentahun N, Belachew T, Coates J, et al. Seasonality and determinants of childgrowth velocity and growth deficit in rural southwest Ethiopia. BMC Pediatr.2018;18(1):20.

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