Clinical characteristics of the patients at the start of the study
| GH treated group | Controls | |
|---|---|---|
| Results expressed as median (range). | ||
| *Measured on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS). | ||
| †Child Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ). | ||
| Sex (M:F) | 2:8 | 2:5 |
| Age at start (year) | 8.0 (5.7 to 13.0) | 8.1 (6.8 to 10.8) |
| Height SDS | −1.4 (−3.0 to 0.1) | −1.9 (−2.9 to −1.0) |
| BMD total body SDS | −0.8 (−1.8 to 0.8) | −1.9 (−2.5 to −0.3) |
| BMD lumbar spine SDS | −1.6 (−2.3 to 0.6) | −1.9 (−2.7 to −0.5) |
| Lean body mass SDS | −1.9 (−2.9 to −0.0) | −1.9 (−3.0 to −0.9) |
| % fat SDS | 1.5 (−0.6 to 3.2) | 0.0 (−1.5 to −3.9) |
| Target height SDS | 0.4 (−1.5 to 3.1) | 0.3 (−1.8 to 3.3) |
| Cumulative dose of prednisone (mg) | 5963 (2094–27864) | 7603 (2317–26810) |
| Cumulative dose of methotrexate (MTX) (mg) | 814 (180–2999) | 765 (0–2184) |
| Physician global assessment of disease activity (mm)* | 66 (10–95) | 19.0 (5–93) |
| Parent/patient assessment of the overall wellbeing (mm)* | 26 (0–49) | 19.0 (0–45) |
| Functional ability† (range: 0–3) | 0.9 (0–2.8) | 1.8 (0.1–3.0) |
| Number of joints with active arthritis (range: 0–75) | 9 (1–30) | 2 (0–18) |
| Number of joints with limited range of motion (range: 0–57) | 6 (2–21) | 3 (0–23) |
| ESR (mm/h) | 26.5 (3–77) | 11.0 (6–30) |
| IGF-I SDS | 0.3 (−1.4 to 0.8) | 0.1 (−0.9 to 1.2) |