A mathematical model describing catch-up growth in celiac disease.

Celiac disease may lead to various degrees of growth retardation. In general, catch-up growth is completed in the first 2 years after the start of therapy. A mathematical model for catch-up growth in celiac disease can be useful as a reference to which the growth pattern observed during treatment of other conditions can be compared. In this study we performed a non-linear regression analysis on individual growth data of 16 celiac disease patients using a monomolecular growth function. The goodness of fit was significant in all cases (p < 0.05), which illustrates that this function adequately describes catch-up growth in individuals with celiac disease. From the individual models we have composed a cross-sectional curve and a longitudinal description of the pattern of catch-up growth for the entire population.