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. 2024 Jul;85(1):91-98.
doi: 10.1007/s12020-024-03778-4. Epub 2024 Mar 18.

Epidemiology of growth hormone deficiency in children and adolescents: a systematic review

Chiara Mameli  1   2 , Liliana Guadagni  3 , Massimiliano Orso  4 , Valeria Calcaterra  5   6 , Malgorzata Gabriela Wasniewska  7   8 , Tommaso Aversa  7   8 , Simona Granato  9 , Pietro Bruschini  9 , Daniela d'Angela  10   11 , Federico Spandonaro  10   11 , Barbara Polistena  10   11 , Gianvincenzo Zuccotti  1   2
Affiliations

Epidemiology of growth hormone deficiency in children and adolescents: a systematic review

Chiara Mameli et al. Endocrine. 2024 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is the most common pituitary hormone deficiency and is one of the main causes of short stature in children and adolescents. The aim of this study is to evaluate the epidemiology of pediatric GHD worldwide, since no other systematic review has been published so far.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science up to July 2023 to find epidemiological studies involving children with GHD. Two review authors independently screened articles, extracted data and performed the quality assessment.

Results: We selected 9 epidemiological studies published from 1974 to 2022. The range of prevalence was 1/1107-1/8,646. A study based on a registry of GH users in the Piedmont region (Italy) reported the highest mean prevalence. In the included studies, the mean incidence ranged from 1/28,800 to 1/46,700 cases per year. One study reported a 20-year cumulative incidence of 127/100,000 for boys and 93/100,000 for girls. Studies were heterogeneous in terms of population (age and GHD etiology) and diagnostic criteria. As for the methodological quality of included studies, all but one study satisfied the majority of the checklist items.

Conclusions: The included studies are mostly European, so the provided estimates cannot be considered global. International multicentre studies are needed to compare epidemiological estimates of GHD among different ethnical groups. Considering the considerable cost of human recombinant GH, the only available therapy to treat GHD, understanding accurate epidemiological estimates of GHD in each country is fundamental for resource allocation.

Keywords: Epidemiology; GHD; Growth hormone deficiency; Incidence; Prevalence.

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Conflict of interest statement

M.G.W. is a consultant for Pfizer, Merck, Sandoz and Novonordisk. C.M. has spoken for Pfizer. T.A. has consulted for Pfizer, and Sandoz. B.P. has received payments or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from the following commercial sources: Allergan, Amgen, Astellas, Baxter, BMS, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Janssen Cilag, Jazzpharma, Mylan, Nestle´HS, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, Servier, Shire, Takeda, Teva; in addition, she received consulting fees from UCB. F.S. has received payments or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events from the following commercial sources: Allergan, Amgen, Astellas, Baxter, BMS, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Janssen Cilag, Jazzpharma, Mylan, Nestle´HS, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, Servier, Shire, Takeda, Teva; in addition, he received consulting fees from Amgen. S.G. and P.B. are employees of Pfizer. C.M., G.Z., V.C., T.A., M.G.W. were paid consultants to Pfizer in connection with the development of this manuscript.

Figures

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Fig. 1
PRISMA 2020 flow diagram (insert here)
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