Bone mineral status in growth hormone deficiency.

Bone mineral status was monitored by photon absorptiometry in 18 children with growth hormone deficiency. Before exogenous growth hormone therapy, bone mineral content, bone width, and BMC/BW were below predicted values. Delayed maturation, as assessed by skeletal age, accounted for approximately 35% of the deficit for these values. Height velocity doubled during therapy, and BMC, BW, and BMC/BW increased commensurate with height and weight increases so that the relative deficit was unchanged. The pathogenesis of relative osteopenia in growth hormone deficiency was not determined.