Supplementary Material for: Metabolic Effects of Growth Hormone Treatment in Short Prepubertal Children: A Double-Blinded Randomized Clinical Trial

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Growth hormone (GH) is a central hormone for regulating linear growth during childhood and also highly involved in the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, and protein. However, few studies report on how treatment with GH during childhood influences metabolic parameters. Our aim was to investigate metabolic effects of different doses of GH in short children with GH peak levels in the low to normal range. <b><i>Design:</i></b> Thirty-five prepubertal short children (<i>Results:</i> At 24 months, the high-dose group (HD) had higher fasting insulin compared with the standard-dose (SD) and low-dose (LD) groups (HD: 111.7 vs. SD: 61.2 and LD: 46.0 pmol/L [<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001]) and showed signs of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR, HD: 4.20 vs. SD: 2.17 and LD: 1.71 (LD) [<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001]). The FSIVGTT also demonstrated higher acute insulin response (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). Few other metabolic differences were found at 24 months, but a decreased insulin sensitivity index (Si) could already be seen at 12 months for both SD and HD compared with the LD group (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Treatment with GH resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in insulin sensitivity, demonstrated by higher levels of fasting insulin and signs of insulin resistance in both HOMA indices and FSIVGTT examinations.