“Growing big” is actually the expectation of most parents for their own children, but the idea is not enough, many parents think that their children will surge when they reach puberty, and as a result, when other children gradually grow taller, they have no movement of growth, and then parents start to be anxious and take their children to the doctor, eagerly hoping that the doctor will use what However, the best time for treatment is often missed, so if parents find that their children have abnormal height, they should take them to the doctor as soon as possible. Parents should also remind their children to keep good records at each stage of growth and take them for regular checkups to detect problems and receive treatment early.
As we know, human growth is a complex physiological process, and height is the result of a series of factors. There are many reasons for children’s short stature, including genetic factors, metabolic diseases and nutritional deficiencies. In this issue, we have compiled a list of questions that many parents often have when seeking medical help, and asked Gu Weijun, deputy director of the Department of Endocrinology at the PLA General Hospital, to talk to you about the matter of children’s height.
What should I do if my child is “late growing”?
“Late growth” is a common term for delayed physical growth, and doctors often hear the concerns of parents of such children. Generally, the parents of these children have normal height, but the child grows a little slower each year, entering puberty later than their peers, and the bone age will also lag behind the actual age. Once puberty begins, the growth rate will accelerate and eventually reach the height of an adult.
Some children are affected by both familial short stature and delayed growth during puberty, making them even shorter in childhood. However, parents should not blindly draw conclusions about their children based on their own experience, but should always go to a regular medical institution and let the doctor make a judgment so as not to miss the best time for treatment.
Do children with “late growth” need treatment?
When you come to the hospital, first of all, the doctor will do a growth hormone stimulation test to rule out growth hormone deficiency (pituitary dwarfism).
If there is only a delay in physical growth, the growth hormone test result may be low before puberty, and the growth hormone level will return to normal by puberty.
Next, check for hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism occurs in childhood and is characterized by slowed height growth and short stature. Girls are checked for chromosomes to rule out Turner syndrome. The main feature of this disease is short stature. Children with Turner syndrome often lack a youthful growth spurt without normal pubertal development, and the growth lag is more pronounced in adolescence, with delayed epiphyseal closure. Experience with treatment over the years has confirmed that growth hormone therapy is effective.
Bone density testing is also required to determine the bone age of the child. If the bone age is 2 to 3 years behind, it indicates that the child has growth potential, as the bone age is close to closing after the age of 16 and cannot grow any taller.
It is normal to have delayed sexual development during puberty, usually before the age of 16 for girls and 18 for boys. If puberty does not occur by the age of 19, it may be due to gonadotropin deficiency and a sex hormone test should be done.
If, after the tests mentioned above, other diseases are ruled out, combined with the characteristics of delayed somatic development and the history of “late growth” of the parents during puberty, parents can wait for their child’s natural growth and development, and visit the doctor regularly to monitor height.
“Late growth” is the type of normal growth that does not usually require treatment. However, these children are small and slow to mature, and may be mentally burdened or even traumatized by the fact that they are different from others. Therefore, it is important for both parents and children to understand this type of growth. Parents can encourage and comfort their children and take them to the doctor regularly for height testing to relieve their psychological burden through authoritative explanations from the doctor. The doctor will give advice on medication to see if the child needs treatment in the light of the actual situation. Reasonable treatment can promote faster growth in these children.
What are the common diseases that cause dwarfism?
There are many causes of short stature, including growth hormone deficiency, less than fetal age children, idiopathic dwarfism, precocious puberty, Turner syndrome, congenital chondrodysplasia, etc., but the more common ones clinically are as follows.
1. Genetic and family factors. If a member of the family is short in stature, then the next generation is more likely to suffer from dwarfism. However, genetic factors can also be influenced by environmental factors of growth later in life.
2. Weight and length at birth. If the child’s weight at birth is lower than the normal birth weight, most of these children are shorter than those with normal birth weight and height at all ages and in their final adulthood.
3. Nutrition and disease. The mother’s nutrition during pregnancy is vital to the growth of the fetus, if the mother has severe malnutrition during pregnancy, or chronic heart, lung, liver and kidney disease, may cause fetal growth disorders, making the child in the fetal period as well as after birth height are below normal levels. Some endocrine diseases, such as growth hormone, which is closely related to height growth after birth, may cause short stature in children if there is a lack of growth hormone, and thyroxine, which regulates the body’s metabolism, may not only lead to short stature in children, but also seriously affect their intellectual development.
In fact, whether it is a physical “late growth” or a condition such as Turner syndrome, it is not terrible, but many parents have a fluke mentality and take “short” as “late growth”. However, many parents take a chance and treat “short” as “late growth”, thinking that it is okay for their children to be short when they are young, and that they will catch up when they develop later, imagining that their children will have an unexpectedly long period of adolescence.
Doctors recommend that parents should regularly test their children’s height and calculate their growth rate. It is important to seek medical attention as early as possible to clarify the cause and early standardized treatment to avoid delaying the growth of the child, which not only has good treatment effect but also saves money.
In addition, because parents are not aware of the diagnostic criteria for dwarfism, they often think that their child’s height is below the class average for dwarfism. However, with the improvement of people’s living standard in China, the average height of children is increasing significantly, but it also makes the whole society’s expectation of height increase, so more and more children are added to the group of people who are suffering from short stature. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen health education in this area.
Other misconceptions include: the more calcium supplementation is good for children’s height; the more protein content is good for children’s height; any short stature must be treated with medication; any medication that can promote growth can help to grow taller; height comes entirely from congenital genetics and cannot be remedied later in life. These misconceptions are being used by many unscrupulous businesses, which eventually make these children and their parents fall into the so-called “growth trap”.
Is it safe to treat with hormones?
Many parents are afraid to talk about “hormones”, but this “hormone” is not another “hormone”. However, this “hormone” is not another “hormone”, but what we call human growth hormone (GH) is a protein secreted by the anterior pituitary gland, which is the most important substance to promote growth after birth. After more than 30 years of clinical observation, the European Society of Pediatric Endocrinology officially declared in 1993 that recombinant human growth hormone has a very good safety profile when used in conventional replacement therapy.
Hormones are the main substances that regulate metabolism in the body, and their secretion sites play different physiological roles, for example, thyroid gland secretes thyroid hormone and adrenal cortex secretes adrenocorticotropic hormone. Genetically recombinant human growth hormone has exactly the same structure as the GH protein naturally secreted by the human body, and has 100% biological activity. Since it is not an allogeneic protein and the dose usually used is the minimum effective amount, it is not harmful to the human body.
Growth hormone treatment for dwarfism is safe and effective, but the dosage needs to be at the discretion of the doctor according to the child’s condition, so parents should always seek medical advice from a professional hospital and doctor.
Does parental height have a significant impact on the height of the child?
Not to mention the development of the child, how much does the height of the parents affect the child? In fact, the growth potential of a child’s height is closely related to the average height { of the parents. If the parents are of similar height, then the child’s height { is very close to the average height of the parents; however, if one of the two parents is { tall and one is short, then the variation of the child’s height will be great.
In determining whether a child has growth abnormalities, it is important to consider the effect of parental height { on the child.
When both parents are not tall, how can you make your child grow bigger? This requires an understanding of the four main elements that promote growth.
The first is adequate nutrition. The principle is to ensure adequate amounts of various nutrients, coarse and fine grains, meat and vegetables, dairy products, fish, soy products are the ideal food to supplement calcium, should also eat more vegetables and fruits.
Next is a reasonable amount of physical activity. According to studies, children who exercise are at least 2-3 cm taller than children who do not exercise.
The third is adequate sleep. Growth hormone secretion is three times higher during sleep than during wakefulness, so 8 to 10 hours of sleep is required during rapid adolescent growth.
Finally, it is important to ensure the physical and mental health of the children. Maintaining an optimistic and happy state of mind, avoiding excessive academic pressure and the psychological pressure of fierce competition, and a harmonious family environment are all important to ensure that children’s growth potential is fully realized.