Dwarfism, is defined as being 2 SD or third percentile below the average height of children of the same ethnicity and gender in the same region under similar circumstances. The basic process of growth is regulated by genetic factors, and gene expression is influenced by the internal and external environment. If undesirable factors affecting gene expression can be eliminated, the child will eventually achieve the genetic height he or she deserves. In daily life many children’s height growth is affected by a number of undesirable factors to varying degrees.
These factors usually include: psychological factors, such as poor family environment, social factors, stressful study, lack of sleep, etc., which can lead to mental depression in children and affect the function of GH-IGF axis and gonadal axis, which regulate growth; nutritional factors, such as unreasonable diet and zinc deficiency; some of them are found to affect height only when they come to the hospital for treatment of “dwarfism”. Some of the factors affecting height, such as digestive and absorption problems, liver and lung insufficiency, chronic infections, hypothyroidism, diabetes, Turner syndrome, etc., are only discovered when the child comes to the hospital for treatment of “dwarfism”.
For children whose parents are short, many of them can reach their ideal height if they can eliminate the factors that affect their genetic height, according to the current medical and living standards. Children with premature growth should be alerted to precocious puberty, and their adult lifetime height is often short.
For children with short stature, to allow them to fully realize their genetic potential for height growth so that they can grow taller scientifically, we develop a targeted guidance treatment program based on their specific conditions. If the height is not ideal and the bone age is basically mature, even if there is not much room for growth, it is still possible to realize the final growth potential through reasonable guidance.
In the treatment of dwarfism, finding the cause is a crucial step. A 7-year-old boy, whose height was less than 105 cm, was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency and was treated accordingly. After treatment for the cause, she was followed up for 5 years and now has a height of 142 cm, which is basically in the normal range.