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RESEARCH PRODUCT

High prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in Sicilian children affected by growth hormone deficiency and its improvement after 12 months of replacement treatment.

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PURPOSE: Although the correlation between vitamin D and growth hormone (GH)-insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) axis is documented, as of date, few and conflicting studies have prospectively analyzed vitamin D before and after GH treatment. Our aim was to evaluate as to how the condition of GH deficiency (GHD) or GH treatment influences vitamin D in children. METHODS: Eighty Sicilian GHD children (M/F 58/22; mean age 10.3 years), grouped according to the season of evaluation in group A (June-September; 41 children) and group B (November-February; 39 children), were evaluated at baseline and after 12 months of GH treatment. RESULTS: Twenty-eight children (35 %) were vitamin D insufficient and 32 (40 %) deficient at baseline, and lower vitamin D levels were found in group B than in A (17.3 ± 5.3 vs. 31.1 ± 11.1 ng/ml; p < 0.001). A positive correlation between vitamin D and baseline GH levels (p < 0.001) was found. After 12 months, increased vitamin D was found both in all children (34.4 ± 16.4 vs. 24.5 ± 11.1 ng/ml; p = 0.002) and in group A (38.5 ± 14 vs. 31.1 ± 11.1 ng/ml; p < 0.001) and B (30 ± 17.7 vs. 17.3 ± 5.3 ng/ml; p < 0.001). Overall, only 25 (31 %) children remained insufficient and 15 (19 %) deficient, with an increase in prevalence of children with normal levels (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrated a very high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in Sicilian GHD children, with an improvement after 12 months of GH treatment. Vitamin D assessment should therefore be considered routinely in GHD children both at diagnosis and during the follow-up