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Growth hormone to reverse or prevent aging - forget it
(May 2007)

Growth hormone is the darling of the so-called anti-aging fraternity.  It has been imbued in their panegyrics with almost miraculous properties – keep you young, prevent or reverse aging, reduce body fat, increase body muscle and strength, lower cholesterol levels, increase bone strength, increase virility, enhance quality of life.  It is touted as a veritable elixir of youth.  But, there have been abiding concerns about its safety.

A group of California investigators has now analyzed 18 studies involving 220 persons, average age 69 years, who received growth hormone for an average of 26 weeks.  Each study included controls who did not receive growth hormone.

The results can be divided into good and bad effects.

Good effects: Men showed a modest reduction in body fat and a modest increase in muscle mass.  The results for women were unimpressive and not statistically significant.  There were no significant beneficial effects in regard to cholesterol levels or bone density.

Adverse effects: About half the subjects given growth hormone developed fluid collection in their soft tissues (edema) and about one in five developed carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrists and/or joint pains.  A small percentage also developed diabetes.

The authors concluded that growth hormone “offers little clinical benefits to the healthy elderly and is associated with high rates of adverse events.  On the basis of available evidence, growth hormone cannot be recommended for use among the healthy elderly”.

Commentary: This is a perfectly good analysis, but it is not the last word.

- Each of the 18 studies had only a small number of participants.  That, in itself, mandates caution in drawing conclusions.

- No analysis could be made of claims of psychological benefits, feeling better, increased virility, or improved quality of life.  Those anti-aging doctors who prescribe growth hormone with abandon will argue that, since the study did not measure these outcome variables, it is limited and its findings should not be taken seriously.

There are some people who are actually growth hormone deficient; they benefit from being given the hormone.  The problem is that the growth hormone proponents usually do not measure blood growth hormone levels.  Because growth hormone levels fall during aging, growth hormone deficiency should be diagnosed only with very low blood levels and confirmation by an endocrinologist.  Modestly low blood levels in older individuals should not be used to justify growth hormone treatment.

Liu, H., et al.  Systematic review: the safety and efficacy of growth hormone in the healthy elderly.  Annals of Internal Medicine.  Vol 146 (January 16) Pgs 104-115.  2007

The growth hormone entrepreneurs make a lot of claims of benefit for growth hormone; some important claims as shown here cannot be substantiated; and they understate the potentially harmful side effects.  The claim of longer life due to growth hormone administration is undocumented; that claim should never be made in the absence of good evidence.  And, there is still the currently unproved concern that long-term use of growth hormone could lead to or accentuate some cancers.