Premium
Fat distribution in short‐stature children born small for gestational age
Author(s) -
Maeyama Takatoshi,
Ida Shinobu,
Onuma Shinsuke,
Shoji Yasuko,
Yamamoto Takehisa,
Etani Yuri,
Kawai Masanobu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
pediatrics international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.49
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1442-200X
pISSN - 1328-8067
DOI - 10.1111/ped.14337
Subject(s) - medicine , small for gestational age , short stature , endocrinology , anthropometry , adipose tissue , body mass index , obesity , growth hormone treatment , gestational age , fat distribution , pediatrics , hormone , pregnancy , growth hormone , biology , genetics
Background Children born small for gestational age (SGA) with catch‐up growth are at high risk for developing obesity; however, the characteristics of body composition, especially fat distribution, before and after growth hormone (GH) treatment in SGA children without catch‐up growth remains largely unknown. Methods Anthropometric characteristics, body composition by dual‐energy X‐ray absorption, and fat distribution by computed tomography at the umbilical level were examined in 27 prepubertal short‐stature children born SGA before and 1 year after GH treatment. Results Before GH treatment, short‐stature SGA children had lean phenotypes, and both visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) were significantly lower than the age‐ and sex‐matched Japanese reference values. Growth hormone treatment significantly increased height standard deviation scores (SDS), without affecting body mass index SDS. Percentage fat mass decreased with GH treatment; however, fat mass was not altered. Both VAT and SAT were significantly lower than the reference values after GH treatment. The ratio of VAT over SAT significantly increased by GH treatment. Conclusions Both VAT and SAT were within or below the age‐ and sex‐matched Japanese reference values in short‐stature children born SGA before and after GH treatment, indicating that GH treatment may not have unfavorable effects on adiposity in short‐stature children born SGA, although it may alter fat distribution.