Anthropometry at the time of diagnosis in Danish children with inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

The height-for-age and the BMI-for-age, as evaluated by z-scores, of children with ulcerative colitis (UC) did not differ from those of normal Danish children, but Crohn's disease (CD) children had significantly lower height and BMI values, both when compared to normal children and children with UC. In contrast to UC, CD is frequently complicated by malnutrition and growth retardation at the time of diagnosis.

Growth retardation in pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases – pathogenesis and treatment

“…Particularly significant growth retardation is observed when the disease is localized mainly in the small intestine, since up to 19% of these children reach the final height eight centimeters smaller than expected [4]. In the group of children with ulcerative colitis only 3-10% demonstrate a decreased growth rate at diagnosis [4,9]. Sometimes at the time of diagnosis not only growth retardation and sexual maturation retardation are observed, but also chronic, serious disturbances of bone mineralization in the form of severe osteoporosis, which are the first symptoms of IBD, are present as well [10].…”

“…Borrelli et al also demonstrated that the effect of that treatment was significantly better if the treatment was prolonged than if it was limited to induction with three doses of the drug [21]. Biologics directly affect bone metabolism and the reabsorption process in a mechanism independent of anti-inflammatory action [9]. In the studies of Malaise et al it was demonstrated that already after eight weeks of biologic treatment biochemical markers of bone formation (type-1 collagen C-te lopeptide, type-1 procollagen, osteocalcin, specific alka line phosphatase) were normalized in 14-51% of patients [22].…”

Improving Growth in Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

“…At presentation, children with IBD and particularly CD are more likely to be short or growing slowly [1, 2]. The height of these children may be inversely related to the duration of symptoms and poor growth may be the sole presenting feature in some children [3].…”

Serum Antibodies and Anthropometric Data at Diagnosis in Pediatric Crohn’s Disease

“…Multiple studies have confirmed that mean height z-scores were significantly lower in children with CD, although the mean height z-scores of children with UC were not significantly lower [6,7]. Paerregaard et al [8] discovered that height and BMI z-scores of CD patients at diagnosis were significantly lower than those of UC patients, which did not differ from those of healthy children. In patients with Crohn's disease, Sawczekno et al [6] discovered that the presence of jejunal disease was associated with reduced weight and height, and that ileal disease was associated with reduced weight.…”