Abstract
The relationship between growth hormone action and lipid metabolism is unclear. Some reports note an increase in total cholesterol levels in patients with growth hormone deficiency but this finding is not consistent between studies. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the lipid levels in all children with short stature who were being evaluated for possible growth hormone deficiency with an arginine/glucagon stimulation test. Lipid levels were determined in 110 fasting children and 33 of these children were found to be growth hormone (GH) deficient (but euthyroid). The mean cholesterol values were not significantly different between the control and GH deficient groups (171.8 mg/dl vs. 184.2) however, a distinct bimodal pattern GH deficient group with 45% of the levels ≥ 190 as opposed to 26% for the normal short stature group. Hypercholesterolemia (≥ 200) was present in 24% of the GH deficient children. The cholesterol levels did not correlate with the peak growth hormone response or pretreatment growth velocity. This subset of GH deficient children with hypercholesterolemia needs to be characterized further and supports the role of GH in modulating lipid metabolism.
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Greger, N., Postelion, D. & Gutai, J. LIPID ABNORMALITIES IN CHILDREN WITH GROWTH HORMONE DEFICIENCY. Pediatr Res 33 (Suppl 5), S46 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199305001-00257
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199305001-00257
