TOPLINE:

Children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) had reduced physical fitness and lower levels of physical activity than control individuals without the condition, but 1 year of growth hormone replacement therapy (GHRT) significantly improved body composition, muscle strength, levels of physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and quality of life.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a two-arm study (a case-control cross-sectional study and a 1-year prospective study) to evaluate how GHD and GHRT affected health-related physical fitness, lifestyle habits, and quality of life in children.
• They included 49 children with untreated isolated GHD (mean age, 10.7 years; 63% boys) and 46 healthy control individuals (mean age, 11.8 years; 54% boys) who underwent a comprehensive evaluation of body composition, musculoskeletal and cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility, functional mobility, lifestyle habits, and health-related quality of life.
• All parameters were re-evaluated in children with GHD after 1 year of GHRT.

TAKEAWAY:

• At baseline, compared with the control group, the GHD group had significantly higher levels of sedentary behaviour (P = .03) and a higher waist to height ratio (P = .001) along with lower muscle strength (P < .05), shorter 6-minute walk distance (P = .03), and lower maximal oxygen uptake (P = .02).
• After 1 year of GHRT, compared with the control group, the GHD group had significant improvements in sedentary behaviour (P = .03), waist to height ratio (P = .02), fat mass percentage (P < .0001), muscle strength (P < .05), 6-minute walk distance (P = .01), and maximal oxygen uptake (P = .02).
• A significant improvement was also observed in health-related quality-of-life scores across physical (P < .007) and psychosocial (P < .05) domains in the GHD group after GHRT.

IN PRACTICE:

“Our results documented that GHD in childhood can be associated to impaired health- related physical fitness and reduced physical activity, which can be restored by GHRT, eventually leading to a better HRQOL [health-related quality of life],” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Nicola Improda, Neuroendocrine Diseases and Obesity Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Santobono-Pausilipon Children’s Hospital, Napoli, Italy. It was published online on December 20, 2025, in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

LIMITATIONS:

The study was limited by the relatively small sample size and lack of data on dietary habits, energy and protein intake, sport participation, psychosocial factors, and treatment adherence. The absence of 1-year follow-up data in the control group limited the ability to compare improvements in the GHD group with natural changes in growth and pubertal development.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was supported by Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. The authors reported having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.