The essence of childhood for all species is growth. Growth refers to the physical and developmental milestones that most children will reach at certain ages, including height, weight, and cognitive skills. Assessing children’s growth is an important role of pediatric medicine. The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital Pediatric Endocrinology Program provides care for youth who face abnormal growth challenges.

Monitoring Your Child’s Growth

A child’s rate of growth is an important clue to the presence or absence of a growth problem. A child who is growing at a slower than normal rate may have a serious problem, regardless of his or her current height. Kathy Clark, pediatric nurse practitioner, emphasizes the importance of utilizing a standard growth chart to monitor your child’s growth patterns. “Every time a child visits their pediatrician for a well check, he or she gets weighed and measured. These numbers are useless unless plotted on a growth chart. The single best indicator of health is how a child is growing.” Clark states, “This is really the basis of a pediatric exam.”

How to Recognize a Growth Disorder

Some growth disorders may be recognized at birth. In other cases, a parent may be concerned that their child is the shortest in the class, still wearing the same size clothing as last year, or growing less than two inches a year. In these cases, a thorough medical evaluation by a pediatric endocrinologist at Mott Hospital can determine if there is a growth disorder affecting a child’s development.

Causes of Growth Disorders

There are many causes of growth failure in children. It is important to realize that most children who are shorter than average do not have a serious growth problem. However, there are many conditions and diseases that can cause poor growth. Some are congenital (present at birth), some are genetic, and some are the result of hormonal disorders. Disease of the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, or heart, or a brain tumor may also lead to growth disorders. In many of these cases, poor growth patterns may be the first sign of a problem.

Common Growth Disorders

Growth disorders that are endocrine- or hormonal-related diseases involve the deficiency or excess of human growth hormone, the hormone responsible for growth. According to Ram Menon, M.D., Director of Pediatric Endocrinology, “Kids are growth hormone-deficient when their pituitary gland does not produce the right amount of growth hormone.” The pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain, is responsible for secreting many hormones including growth hormone.

“There is another group of kids who are not deficient in growth hormones, but have other underlying health conditions that prevent them from growing properly,” states Menon. Examples of conditions that result in abnormal growth, which are treated at Mott Hospital, include:

• Turner’s syndrome—a genetic syndrome occurring only in girls in which there is a missing or abnormal X chromosome, resulting in slow growth and abnormal sexual development
  
  
• Prader-Willi syndrome—a complex genetic disorder that typically causes low muscle tone, short stature, cognitive disabilities, problem behaviors, and a chronic feeling of hunger that can lead to excessive eating and obesity (See Prader-Willi Syndrome for more information.)

Treatment at Mott Hospital

Specific treatments for growth disorders are determined by endocrinologists at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. Treatment is based on the child’s age, health, and medical history, as well as the extent of their condition. If treatment with synthetic growth hormones is required, Mott endocrinologists advise patients and their families on their course of treatment. Treatment involves regular injection of synthetic growth hormone, usually over the course of several years. “Patients who receive growth hormone treatment usually do so until the time they stop growing. Girls are usually treated until about the age of 15, and boys are usually age 17 or 18 or when they are done growing,” says Clark.