Specific abnormalities in a visual motor psychological test in short children with abnormal growth hormone secretion

Abstract

Forty short (< -2 SD) prepubertal children with no organic disease underwent two growth hormone (GH)-stimulation tests, a sleep test and a psychological assessment based on the Rey-Osterrieth figure that was scored for boundary-type errors (defined as non-developmental severe distortions or disrespect of boundaries) by a psychologist who had not met the child. Twenty-three children had normal endocrinological findings and 17 had abnormal GH secretion (4 with complete GH deficiency and 13 with normal GH response to pharmacological stimuli but abnormal nocturnal secretion). Seventeen children had normal results in the Rey-Osterrieth figure test and 23 made boundary-type errors. The biological and psychological analyses agreed in 32 cases, leading to a very significant (p < 0.0005) relation. This study reveals that short children with abnormal GH secretion, particularly low nocturnal secretion, show abnormalities independent of their developmental quotient in a visual motor psychological test.