Low cortisol in children should be analyzed according to the specific cause, if it is primary low cortisol, it may not affect the height, but if it is low cortisol caused by pituitary gland disease, it may appear short.
Cortisol is secreted by the adrenal gland and is categorized into three hormones: glucocorticoids, sex hormones and aldosterone, which have very important roles in the human body, e.g., sex hormones can affect the development of children’s sexual organs and so on. Cortisol itself does not affect height, but the hormones in the body are all interacting with each other, and low cortisol reflects different conditions that may lead to different results:
1. Primary low cortisol is common in primary chronic hypoadrenocorticism, congenital adrenocortical hyperplasia and so on. It does not usually affect height.
2. Secondary hypocortisolism is mainly caused by pituitary abnormalities, such as pituitary tumors. The normal physiological functions of children are affected, and they may show symptoms such as developmental delay, loss of appetite, mental retardation and shortness.
If a child is diagnosed with low cortisol level, the cause of the disease should be identified in time and standardized diagnosis and treatment should be carried out under the guidance of the doctor without delay, so as not to affect the normal growth and development of children.