Exploratory secondary analysis of published aggregate growth and metabolic data in children born small for gestational age treated with growth hormone.

PURPOSE: To describe published annual growth and metabolic summaries for children born small for gestational age (SGA) treated with growth hormone and to define the limits of inference from aggregate registry data.

METHODS

We conducted an exploratory secondary analysis of published aggregate means, standard deviations, and outcome-specific sample sizes from baseline through year 5 in the SGA subgroup of the Korean LG Growth Study, with up to 318 children represented at baseline. Primary reporting was descriptive and included annual values, changes from baseline, and measurement availability. Exploratory slope models were retained only as supplementary sensitivity analyses. The published aggregate LGS summaries available for the present secondary analysis did not include longitudinal blood-pressure measurements or cardiovascular-event records.

RESULTS

Height SDS was -2.38 at baseline and -0.76 at year 5, weight SDS was -2.21 and -0.84, and BMI SDS was -0.93 and -0.64. The published mean AST was 32.07 IU/L at baseline and 24.28 IU/L at year 5, whereas several other metabolic markers had higher year-5 means. Median year-5 measurement availability was 12.8% of outcome-specific baseline counts, and only six triglyceride measurements were available at year 5. The markedly reduced outcome-specific sample sizes at later follow-up points substantially limit interpretation of long-term patterns.

CONCLUSION

Published annual mean values differed across follow-up, but changing outcome-specific samples and the unavailability of individual-level longitudinal data to the present secondary analysis preclude estimation of within-child change, causal treatment effects, or cardiovascular risk.