A MATHEMATICAL-MODEL DESCRIBING CATCH-UP GROWTH IN CELIAC-DISEASE

Celiac disease may lead to various degrees of growth retardation. In g eneral, catch-up growth is completed in the first 2 years after the st art of therapy. A mathematical model for catch-up growth in celiac dis ease can be useful as a reference to which the growth pattern observed during treatment of other conditions can be compared. In this study w e performed a non-linear regression analysis on individual growth data of 16 celiac disease patients using a monomolecular growth function. The goodness of fit was significant in all cases (p < 0.05), which ill ustrates that this function adequately describes catch-up growth in in dividuals with celiac disease. From the individual models we have comp osed a cross-sectional curve and a longitudinal description of the pat tern of catch-up growth for the entire population.