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Linear catch-up growth

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Abstract

Chronic diseases and malnutrition cause growth failure in childhood and adolescence. Correction of the cause of a growth deficiency is usually followed by catch-up growth. Capacity to catch-up is not only variable in different phases of growth, it is also different in different diseases and among different individuals suffering from the same disease: Catch-up growth is of three types. In type 1 catch-up growth, height deficit is swiftly eliminated after the growth restriction ceases. In type 2, after growth restriction ceases growth continues for longer than usual and growth arrest is compensated. Type 3 is a mixture of type 1 and type 2. Repeated episodes of growth inhibitory conditions result in lower catch-up rates in the subsequent periods. Although the exact mechanism regulating catch-up growth still remains a mystery, monitoring catch-up growth remains an important measure of the efficacy of the therapy and therefore of immense clinical importance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Genetics, SGPGIMS, Lucknow

    Anita Saxena (Pool Officer), Shubha R. Phadke & S. S. Agarwal

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  1. Anita Saxena
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  2. Shubha R. Phadke
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  3. S. S. Agarwal
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Saxena, A., Phadke, S.R. & Agarwal, S.S. Linear catch-up growth. Indian J Pediatr 67, 225–230 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02723668

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