Stature in children with chronic kidney disease: analysis of NAPRTCS database

Despite recent advances in the management of children with chronic kidney disease (CKD), growth remains suboptimal. The purpose of this study was to evaluate factors associated with short stature in children with CKD. We evaluated the chronic renal failure registry of the North American Pediatric Renal Transplant Cooperative Studies (NAPRTCS) to determine the relations among primary diagnosis, age, race, residual renal function, acidosis, anemia, serum phosphorous, calcium, parathyroid hormone (PTH), albumin, and height at entry into the registry in children with CKD. A total of 5,615 patients were entered into the registry between January 1994 and January 2004. We found that older patients, those with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) >50 ml min⁻¹ 1.73 m⁻², black patients and patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) were at lower risk of being short at entry. Anemia (hematocrit below 33%) was an independent risk factor for short stature. Acidosis, serum phosphorous, calcium, albumin and PTH at registration were poor predictors of short stature. Age, race, primary diagnosis, and residual renal function were associated with short stature in children with CKD.