Impact of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs on body mass index in girls with idiopathic central precocious puberty: a long-term follow-up study

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of gonadotropinreleasing hormone analogs (GnRHa) on body mass index (BMI) in girls with idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP). METHODS: One hundred and thirty-four girls with ICPP were enrolled. Fifty-seven out of the 134 girls were treated with GnRHa for 1.69±0.43 years. The height, weight, bone age and BMI were measured before treatment, at the end of the treatment and after reaching near adult height and compared with those in the untreated 77 girls. RESULTS: The adult predicted height standard deviation score (SDS) at the end of treatment was significantly higher than that before treatment (P0.05). With GnRHa treatment, the near-adult height SDS was higher than the target height SDS (P0.05). A significant reduction in the BMI was observed when reaching the near-adult height in the GnRHa treatment group compared to the level of pretreatment and the untreated group (P<0.01). However, the BMI in the GnRHa treatment group before treatment, at the end of the treatment and after reaching near adult height remained in the normal range (±1 SD). CONCLUSIONS: GnRHa may improve the final height in girls with ICPP. The alterations of BMI after GnRHa therapy fluctuate in a normal range.