GH deficiency during the transition period: clinical characteristics before and after GH replacement therapy in two different subgroups of patients

Objective: To study two subsets of patients with GH deficiency (GHD) during the transition period: childhood onset GHD (CO-GHD) and patients who develop GHD during the transition phase (TO-GHD) before and after GH replacement. Patients and measurements: In 1340 GHD subjects from KIMS (Pfizer International Metabolic Database), CO (n=586) or TO (n=754), background characteristics, anthropometric measurements, IGF-1, lipids and quality of life (QoL) were evaluated at baseline and after 3 years of GH replacement. Results: Both groups responded similarly to GH treatment. Changes of clinical outcomes were mainly determined by their value at baseline. Onset of the disease in childhood or transition period did not appear to be a significant predictor of response in any of the clinical outcomes. Conclusions: Age at GHD diagnosis was a significant predictor for many outcomes at baseline, but disease onset did not appear as an independent predictor concerning changes after 3 years of GH treatment. The results suggest that GH replacement during the transition period should be considered independently of the onset of the deficiency.