Timing of Childhood-Onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Diagnosis Relative to Menarche and the Impact on Final Adult Height

Objective The aim of this study was to examine the impact of timing of a childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) diagnosis relative to menarchal status, on final height, accounting for disease-associated factors. Methods We conducted a cohort study of female patients age <18 years at childhood-onset SLE diagnosis, followed at a tertiary care pediatric center from July 1982 to March 2016, and restricted to patients with documented age of menarche and final height. We compared final height between patients diagnosed pre- and postmenarche. We tested the association of the timing of childhood-onset SLE diagnosis with final height, adjusted for ethnicity, in linear regression models. We performed subgroup analyses of patients with growth during follow-up, additionally adjusting for average daily corticosteroid dose and disease activity. Results Of 401 female childhood-onset SLE patients in the study, 115 patients (29%) were diagnosed premenarche and 286 (71%) postmenarche. Patients diagnosed premenarche were older at menarche compared with patients diagnosed postmenarche (mean +/- SD age 13.5 +/- 1.4 versus 12.5 +/- 1.3 years; P < 0.001). The mean +/- SD final height for girls diagnosed postmenarche (161.4 +/- 6.9 cm) was greater than for those diagnosed premenarche (158.8 +/- 7.3 cm; P = 0.001). In regression analysis, those diagnosed postmenarche were significantly taller than those diagnosed premenarche, as adjusted for ethnicity and disease severity (mean +/- SD beta = 2.6 +/- 0.7 cm; P = 0.0006). Conclusion In this large cohort study of girls with childhood-onset SLE, patients diagnosed postmenarche achieved a taller final height than those diagnosed premenarche, even after accounting for ethnicity and disease severity.