Association of baseline body mass index and other auxological data in short stature children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency at Al-Rusafa district in Baghdad, Iraq

Objectives: To find the association of baseline body mass index (BMI) with other variables such as age, height, and gender in short stature due to idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (IGHD). Methodology: This cross-sectional retrospective study included short-stature children due to growth hormone deficiency (GHD) referred to Endocrine Gland and Diabetes Center at Al-Rusafa district, Baghdad from June 2017 to June 2018. The collected data includes weight, height, gender, age, nutritional status and BMI-SDS (body mass index-standard deviation score). The BMI SDS was divided in three categories: underweight, normal weight, and overweight. Height was divided in three categories based on height standard deviation score (HSDS) for age and gender, very low height, low height, and middle height. Age was divided into childhood onset and adolescent onset. Results: Out of 280 patients with IGHD, the baseline BMI SDS was mainly underweighted (88.9%), then normal (9.6 %) and (1.4%) overweight patients. Childhood-onset were 142 (50.7%), most of them underweight (96.47 %), while 138 (49.3%) patients were in adolescents and most of them was underweight (81%). The relationship between gender and BMI showed high prevalence of being underweight in males (n=142) than in females (n=102). Conclusion: Association between the baseline BMI and height was significant. There was a high prevalence of underweight (88.9%), in children and adolescents with short stature due to IGHD.