Growth Deficiency: Causes, Symptoms & Diagnosis

Growth deficiency is more prevalent in children than in adults. This medical condition develops when the pituitary gland doesn’t produce adequate growth hormones.

In the size of a pea, the pituitary gland at the skull base secretes the human growth hormones. These hormones command various activities of the thyroid along with the body temperature. Shorter height at a young age is the most noticeable symptom of this medical condition.

As per the latest data on growth deficiency, 1 in every 7,000 kids is born with growth deficiency. This condition may also be linked with a genetic disease, such as Prader-Willi and Turner syndrome.

Diagnosis of the Growth Deficiency

As a parent, if you detect the growth deficiency in your kid at an early age, then the problem can be cured by a proper treatment plan curated by a qualified child specialist. The doctor will advise you to get the HGH test done to determine the levels of growth hormones in the blood. Any medical professional can easily conduct this test using the HGH ELISA kit.

However, if you overlook the signs of kid’s lacking in growth, then you’ll end up seeing your child grow to a shorter height than normal children in his/her age, and in certain cases, puberty is delayed.

Not just the children in their puberty phase require the growth hormones, the adults too need to maintain the human growth levels to achieve an optimal body structure and metabolism.

What are Prevalent Causes of Growth Deficiency?

In most cases, there is no single cause that contributes to this medical condition. However, this deficiency is a lot different in children compared to adults.

Most of the researchers on this subject matter firmly believe that genetics have nothing to do with the deficiency in growth, especially in kids. But, those kids born with a physical problem or owning to injury, such as cleft palate have higher odds of dealing with the growth deficiency.

There are several other reasons your kid is lacking in height. These include a severe head injury at a young age, brain surgery, tumor, some infection, hormonal issues in the body, the irregular blood supply to the pituitary gland, and radiation therapy to the brain.

What Are the Symptoms of Growth Deficiency?

The symptoms experienced from growth deficiency vary in accordance with the age, for instance, a five-year-old child will exhibit different signs than a forty-years-old adult.

The most prevalent symptom of growth deficiency in children is their shorter height than normal kids at his/her age. However, one thing you need to note here is that a child born with this medical condition can have normal body measurements.

As a thumb rule, children with a deficiency of the growth hormones grow two inches less per year. The other symptoms include the face appearing younger than the kids in his/her age group, delayed puberty, mild-to-moderate chubbiness.

On the other hand, the growth deficiency symptoms of adults compromise anxiety, baldness in men, regular fatigue, feeling high levels of the LDL cholesterol, insulin resistance, heat and cold sensitivity, and weight gain.

 To Wrap Up

If you or your kid is experiencing the above-illustrated signs, then you must not turn a blind eye, as latter-on this can lead to several physical complications.  Consult a general physical and undergo the HGH test right away to clear all your doubts or commence with the treatment.