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American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 34, 281-288, Copyright © 1981 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

A method of screening for growth hormone deficiency using anthropometrics

SJ Bhatia, SD Moffitt, MA Goldsmith, RP Bain, MH Kutner and D Rudman

Among children less than 3rd percentile in height, less than 1% are deficient in endogenous growth hormone, while 80% have no recognizable organic cause for short stature, and are termed normal variants. This study investigated whether anthropometric evaluation can distinguish growth hormone-deficient from normal variant children. Height, weight, midarm circumference and 10 skinfold thicknesses were measured in 24 growth hormone-deficient and 26 normal variant children; indices of linear growth, adiposity, and lean body mass were derived from these. All these variables were analyzed statistically by discriminant analysis. This led to a screening formula, here called a "Z-function," based only on height and five skinfolds (abdomen, back, chest, knee, and calf). The Z-function classified correctly all but two growth hormone-deficients and two normal variants. Because of the small and possibly inhomogeneous sample, the particular formula developed here is not recommended for general use, but these preliminary findings show that a simple anthropometric screening test is indeed feasible, and could be useful in pediatric practice.




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Copyright © 1981 by The American Society for Nutrition