©1981 American Society for Clinical Nutrition A method of screening for growth hormone deficiency using anthropometrics3

ABSTRACT Among children <3rd percentile in height, less than 1 % are deficient in endog-enous growth hormone, while 80 % have no recognizable organic cause for short stature, and are termed normal variants. This study investigated whether anthropometric evaluation can distinguish growth hormone-deficient from normal variant children. Height, weight, midarm circumference and 10 skinfold thicknesses were measured in 24 growth hormone-deficient and 26 normal variant children; indices of linear growth, adiposity, and lean body mass were derived from these. All these variables were analyzed statistically by discriminant analysis. This led to a screening formula, here called a “Z-function, ” based only on height and five skinfolds (abdomen, back, chest, knee, and calf). The Z-function classified correctly all but two growth hormone-deficients and two normal variants. Because of the small and possibly inhomogeneous sample, the particular formula developed here is not recommended for general use, but these preliminary findings show that a simple anthropometric screening test is indeed feasible, and could be useful in pediatric practice. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 34: 281-288, 1981. KEY WORDS Anthropometry, somatotropin, discriminant analysis, growth disorder