Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Previous studies suggested that treatment with somatropinum in children with GH deficiency (GHD) may alter lipid profile and pituitary–thyroid axis function. However, results are divergent and data regarding a possible association between changes of thyroid function and of circulating lipids are scarce. The aim of this study was to report the changes of the lipid profile in children with GHD treated with somatropinum and the relationship between thyroid function and circulating lipids modifications.

Patients and methods: We performed a retrospective study in which we included children diagnosed with GHD (n=101, 68 males and 33 females with a mean age of 8.6 years) treated with somatropinum during January 2008–January 2012. We recorded from the medical files the following data: weight, height, total-, HDL-, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, TSH, and free T₄ at inclusion (start of the treatment) and every 6 months during the first year of treatment with somatropinum.

Results: Patients with GHD had increased serum triglycerides levels at 6 months after initiation of treatment (from a mean of 60.41 mg/dl at inclusion to 79.93 mg/dl, P=0.025), increased HDL (from a mean 55.35 mg/dl at inclusion to 60.50 mg/dl, P=0.05) and decreased LDL after 1 year (from a mean of 99.35 to 88.35 mg/dl, P=0.05) Although, TSH and free T₄ decreased at 6 and 12 months in comparison with baseline, this modification was not statistically significant. However, the changes in triglycerides and LDL levels were significantly correlated with the TSH levels modification from baseline (r=0.549, P=0.015 for triglycerides and r=0.731, P=0.011 for LDL).

Conclusion: Our study showed that lipid profile significantly changes during treatment with somatropinum for GHD in children and this alteration could be partially due to a slight modification of thyroid function. However, further prospective studies are necessary to clarify this aspect.