QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN SHORT ADULTS

The use of(costly) growth hormone (GH) treatment in short children is often justified by the assumption that short stature considerably redu ces quality of life in adults. We tested this assumption in 5 groups o f short adults: 25 patients with isolated GH deficiency; 17 male patie nts with childhood onset renal failure; 25 women with Turner syndrome and 26 patients who were presented as a child to a paediatrician for i diopathic short stature. A group of 44 short individuals with presumab ly idiopathic short stature, who had not been presented to a paediatri cian for short stature, was sampled from the general population ('norm al shorts'). We measured quality of life in terms of socio-economic va riables, the Nottingham Health Profile and time trade-off. The mean he ight of most groups was close to the 3rd percentile. The chance of hav ing a partner was low for all groups, except for the normal shorts. Pr oblems with job application were only reported in Turner syndrome. The scores on the Nottingham Health Profile were all within the normal ra nge, but GH-deficient adults had a higher score on the domain energy t han normal shorts. Women with Turner syndrome, individuals with renal failure, and these with idiopathic short stature had a wish to be tall er, with an estimated reduction in quality of life of 2-4% (time trade -off). As the normal shorts did not show any sign of a reduced quality of life, we falsify the assumption of a direct relation between short stature and quality of life. The complaints of patients with idiopath ic short stature around the 3rd percentile seem to be the result of un successful coping strategies.