On August 1, the reporter learned from a lecture on dwarfism held at Shanghai Pediatric Hospital that there are about 8 million children suffering from dwarfism in China, and the prevalence of dwarfism among teenagers in Shanghai is 3.77%, which is higher than the national average. Experts reminded that children with dwarfism can be intervened and treated, and four years old is the golden dividing line to determine children’s dwarfism. Once a child’s height is found to be short, parents should consult the doctor in time to avoid lifelong regrets.
According to the introduction, there are various causes of dwarfism, including endocrine diseases, familial dwarfism, developmental delay and chromosomal abnormalities. In addition to physical defects, children with dwarfism often have problems with personality, self-esteem, self-confidence and social skills, and about half of the children with dwarfism have depression.
In daily life, when parents see that their children are not growing, they may mistakenly think that they are growing late or lacking in nutrition, thus delaying treatment. In developed countries, children with dwarfism start treatment at the age of 6 to 10, while 70% of children in China start treatment at the age of 11 to 16. Many children will first take health care products, use height-enhancing devices, etc., but do not know that health care products and devices are not beneficial to height, but will delay the time resulting in epiphyseal closure, and ultimately miss the best time to correct. Experts say that when children are four years old, human growth hormone and thyroid hormone have basically formed, diet and sleep habits are gradually “fixed”, parents can pay attention to their children’s “four-year-old height”, if short symptoms promptly seek medical advice.