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Congenital adrenal hyperplasia: Transition from childhood to adulthood

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Abstract

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a group of disorders caused by inborn errors of steroid metabolism. The most common form owing to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (CAH-21OHD) is present in about 1:10,000–1:15,000 live births worldwide. In its classic salt-wasting form (∼66–75% of cases) patients may suffer potentially lethal adrenal insufficiency. Non-saltwasting forms of CAH-21OHD are recognized by genital ambiguity in affected females, and by signs of androgen excess in later childhood in males. Non-classic CAH-21OHD may be detected in up to 1–3% of certain populations, and is often mistaken for idiopathic precocious pubarche in children or polycystic ovary syndrome in young women. This chapter will address issues relating to transition of CAH care from the pediatric to the adult endocrinologist.

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  1. Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, North Shore University Hospital, 300 Community Drive, Manhasset, NY, 11030, USA

    Phyllis W. Speiser (Professor)

  2. New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA

    Phyllis W. Speiser (Professor)

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Speiser, P.W. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia: Transition from childhood to adulthood. J Endocrinol Invest 24, 681–691 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03343913

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