Endocrine disorders in infants, children, and adolescents
Hormones are vital to life as they provide critical signals that impact multiple organ systems. In children, hormones not only maintain homeostasis but also support growth, neurodevelopment, and pubertal development. Thus, hormone dysfunction can have profoundly deleterious impacts during childhood and adolescence. This article reviews the physiology of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, thyroid gland, puberty, adrenal gland, and calcium and phosphate homeostasis to provide a basis for understanding endocrine disease. Pathologic endocrine conditions including hypothyroidism, hypopituitarism, precocious puberty, rickets, and type 1 and type 2 diabetes are discussed, with emphasis on risk factors, clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment. While it is not possible to include all endocrine pathology, this article provides a reference for many common endocrine disorders affecting infants, children, and adolescents.
