Herbal Medicine Promotes Growth of Children

Abstract

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of the herbal medicine in children's growth.Methods 67 of the children in the age from 3 to 16 were participated in this study(31 of boys and 36 of girls). Department of the pediatrics, ○○ university oriental medical hospital, and the participants were measured their body composition and their bone age, the height percentile of the first and the last visit were measured, and those were compared by the Korean Association of Pediatrics' Growth Statistics Curve. Results1. Generally, total children's average height and weight were significantly increased after the herbal medical treatment. The comparison between the height and the average height, the weight and the average weight were significantly decreased after the herbal medical treatment. 2. Total children's average soft lean mass, body fat mass, BMI, basal metabolic rate, abdominal circumference and hip circumference were also significantly increased after the herbal medical treatment. 3. The mean height percentile of the children showed 0.88 percentile upwardly. The mean weight percentile of children showed 1.84 percentile upwardly. 4. The height percentile was increased in the group of boys younger than 13, and a group of girls older than 12 year old. Other than a group of boys older than 14, every group showed increasing weight percentile. ConclusionsThe herbal medical treatment helped children with growth retardation.

Hypothesis Proposal about Predictive Factors and Optimal Age for Response to Herbal Medicine Treatment for Height Gain in Children: a Retrospective Review

“…Heredity are important predictors of growth and GH treatment response 13), 21) . However, MPH was not found to be a predictor of response to herbal medicine treatment in the present study; this is in agreement with the results of previous studies on herbal medicine, which reported no influence of heredity on treatment response 6), 7) . The baseline height percentile was also not found to be a predictor of treatment response in the present study.…”

“…However, whether baseline percentile is a determinant of treatment response with herbal medicine is a matter of controversy [6][7][8][9] . In a previous study, GH therapy was reported as being effective in children of the lower percentile group 30) .…”

“…According to a previous study, 4.4-7.3% of school-children attempt treatment for height gain, and herbal medicine is the most commonly administered treatment modality 5) . Several clinical studies have reported the positive effects of herbal medicine on height gain [6][7][8][9] . In addition, the side effects of herbal medicine in children are relatively few and not serious.…”

Effects of Herbal Medicine for Growth of Children: a Retrospective Study

“…이 등 13) , 박 14) , 정 등 15) , 조 등 16) , 유 등 17) , 정 등 18) , 박 등 19) , 이 등 20) , 윤 등 체성분 분석을 이용한 연구는 김 등 24) , 홍 등 25) , 김 등 Ⅲ. Results (Table 7).…”