On the topic of children’s growth, there are several old sayings “there are seedlings not worried about growth” and the idea of “twenty-three scampering a scamper” is no longer suitable for the current social development, because now life is rich, family conditions are very good, children can not only eat enough, and even the proportion of precocious sexual maturity is also increasing year by year. The above few old saying is that in poor economic conditions, children do not have enough to eat and develop later, but now this phenomenon is becoming less and less, so what is short stature?
According to the definition of short stature by the Pediatric Endocrine Genetic Metabolism Group of the Chinese Medical Association, short stature refers to individuals of the same race, sex, and age whose height is lower than the average height of the normal population by 2 standard deviations (-2SD), or lower than the 3rd percentile (-1.88SD) in a similar living environment, some of which are normal physiological variants. So what are the causes of short stature?
Growth hormone deficiency is the main cause The well-known dwarf is a type of dwarfism. The growth rate of children’s height can be used as a criterion: infants and children under 3 years old have a growth rate of less than 7 cm/year; between 3 years old and pre-pubertal period, the growth rate is less than 3-5 cm/year; during puberty, the growth rate is less than 5-6 cm/year, all of which belong to slow growth.
Endocrine disorders that cause dwarfism account for more than 50% of patients with clinical dwarfism The most common one is the disorder of growth hormone secretion by the pituitary gland. Growth hormone is the most important hormone that promotes the growth of bones and organs after birth, and its deficiency will directly affect the growth and development of children. Most children with growth hormone deficiency show slow growth after the age of 1 year, and they tend to exhibit proportional dwarfism, and may be adults in their 20s, but always have a baby face and the same intelligence as a normal person. The growth hormone deficiency also makes the affected child a step behind in all development, especially in the reproductive system, and most have delayed puberty. If these children are not treated with growth hormone, i.e., artificial growth hormone is injected to replace the pituitary gland, they will become what we call “little dwarfs” and will generally be about 1.45 meters tall as adults for men and no more than 1.35 meters tall for women.
Sixty percent of children with dwarfism have psychological problems. Children with dwarfism are often ridiculed and teased, thus making them introverted, self-pitying and even depressed. According to the results of a new study on the impact of abnormal growth and development on children’s mental health, which was conducted by several hospitals in China, children with dwarfism have not only physical problems (failure to grow taller), but also psychological problems, and nearly 60% of children with dwarfism have different degrees of psychological problems, such as introversion, emotional instability and social withdrawal. In the clinic, we have heard many parents of children with dwarfism reflect that their children are not only getting to the front of the seat in the class, but also seem to have become distant from their teachers and classmates.
The earlier the treatment, the better the results. Early detection of dwarfism is completely curable. Experts emphasize that 3-16 years old is the “golden period” for children’s height growth, and it is also the best time to help people with dwarfism grow in height. Parents should keep track of their children’s basic growth pattern and record their height in detail every year. Once they find that their children are growing slower than their peers during the growth period, they should be more alert and take their children to a regular hospital’s dwarf clinic or pediatric endocrinology clinic. Once a child is diagnosed with dwarfism, there is no need to worry too much because there are good clinical treatments available. Experts believe that the use of mammalian-derived recombinant human growth hormone therapy is currently the most effective method recognized for the treatment of growth disorders. Relevant clinical studies show that the younger the child is, the more active the proliferation and differentiation of the cartilage layer of the epiphysis, the greater the growth potential and space, the more sensitive the child is to treatment, and the better the growth effect. Moreover, the younger the child is, the lighter the child’s weight is, and the smaller the dose of medication is, the smaller the cost is.
In summary: short stature is not terrible, timely detection, early intervention, standardized medication, regular follow-up, the ideal height will be achieved naturally.