Are IGF-I and IGF-BP3 Useful for Diagnosing Growth Hormone Deficiency in Children of Short Stature?

Abstract

The diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is based on clinical and auxological characteristics combined with the results of growth hormone provocation tests. To evaluate the utility of IGF-I and IGF-BP3 serum levels in the diagnosis of GHD among children of short stature. We recruited 207 short pre-pubertal children and divided them into two groups. One group consisted of 70 children (mean age 7.93 +/- 2.35 SD) with a growth hormone (GH) response on two provocative tests of < or = 8 ng/ml, while the other group contained 137 children (mean age 7.92 +/- 2.11 SD) with a peak GH value of > 8 ng/ml. Serum IGF-1 and IGF-BP3 levels were determined in the two groups. The difference in serum IGF-I between the two groups was not significant (p= 0.26), while the difference in IGF-BP3 between the two groups was statistically significant (p= 0.004). The performance of serum IGF-1 and IGF-BP3 as a diagnostic tool, expressed as AUC by ROC analyses, was quite low. Neither IGF-I nor IGF-BP3 are an adequate substitute for the stimulus test in the diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency among children of short stature.