Effect of One-Year Growth Hormone Therapy on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Boys with Obesity

It has been recognized that people with obesity are more likely to have low growth hormone secretion. Recent studies have also confirmed that the abnormalities of the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor 1 axis were associated with cardiovascular complications in people with obesity. However, little is known about whether recombinant human growth hormone therapy could improve cardiovascular and metabolic risks in obese children. This study aims to evaluate the effect of one-year growth hormone therapy on obesity-related comorbidities and to assess the safety in Chinese boys with obesity. Eighteen boys with obesity were treated with recombinant human growth hormone for one year. Anthropometric measurements, endocrine testing, and cardiovascular risk markers were performed in all obese boys in baseline, and follow-up visits were performed at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and one year, respectively. After one year of recombinant human growth hormone treatment, the body mass index standard deviation scores decreased (P < 0.001) and insulin-like growth factor 1 levels increased (P < 0.001). GH treatment also reduced low density lipoprotein cholesterol (P < 0.001), total cholesterol (P < 0.001), triglycerides (P=0.042), and alanine aminotransferase (P=0.027) when compared with the baseline. One-year of recombinant human growth hormone treatment could improve cardiometabolic risk markers, without adverse effects on glucose homeostasis in boys with obesity.