Retard pubertaire d’origine nutritionnelle : Analyse d’une série de cas d’un centre universitaire de l’Est Algérien. [ Delayed puberty of nutritional origin: Analysis of a cases serie from an eastern Algeria academic center.]

Introduction. Malnutrition is one of main reasons for growth and puberty delay. Objective. To determine the prevalence of functional hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (FHH) from nutritional origin, and to study its clinical and biological characteristics. Population and methods. This retrospective study was conducted on 32 cases of FHH [secondary to Chronic Diseases + Constitutional Delay of Growth and Puberty (CDGP)], from a series of 125 patients evaluated for delayed puberty (DP) in the Endocrinology Department of the University Hospital Center of Constantine, between 2000 and 2010, and follow-up for at least 5 years. The diagnosis of malnutrition was clinical, according to the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics consensus. Each patient received a general check-up and a gonadotropic and thyrotropic hormonal assay. Other etiological explorations were clinically guided. FHH group was compared with isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) group. Results. FHH constituted 26% of the series [21 boys/11 girls, (p