SSRI and its effects on height during puberty

[Anonymous]

I have read that kids who are going through puberty and on SSRI will have a shorter stature. Some studies are new and some are old dating back to 2001. Our ped psychiatrist certain did not inform us of this when DS started on anxiety meds. Any parents of teens taking SSRI have heard of this? Are there specific families of SSRIs that are less intrusive to puberty growth?

[Anonymous]

We have a level 3 nonverbal now adult. We roughed it out for 18 years and refused all “psych” meds until this one reached full adulthood. I wanted their brain and body to have its best chance to grow, develop their unique personality, and adapt as much as possible. And now we are using only the barest minimum doses of three meds to take the edge off certain very difficult behaviors. Thats good enough and their personality remains unadulterated.

[Anonymous]

We toughed it out not roughed it out.

[Anonymous]

I realized it too late. My son didn’t grow from 14 1/2 to almost 16. When I started researching about growth issues teens I realized there are a few studies that link ssri’s and height. We discontinued the ssri. Maybe it was too late because he hasn’t grown since 14 1/2 and he is 17 1/2 now and substantially shorter than his two siblings.

He really needed the medication so not sure in hindsight what we should have done.

[Anonymous]

Do you have links to what you’ve read, OP?

[Anonymous]

My DC has been on an SSRI since age 8 and grew normally to full predicted height.

[Anonymous]

Please share links

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realized it too late. My son didn’t grow from 14 1/2 to almost 16. When I started researching about growth issues teens I realized there are a few studies that link ssri’s and height. We discontinued the ssri. Maybe it was too late because he hasn’t grown since 14 1/2 and he is 17 1/2 now and substantially shorter than his two siblings.

He really needed the medication so not sure in hindsight what we should have done.

Maybe this is what happened to my son? He’s always been 75%+ for height. He started to have a huge growth spurt just before starting SSRIs. Then it just stopped. He was 14. Now he’s 16 and hasn’t even grown an inch. He likely is done. He’s fallen to 50%. It’s upsetting to him because he hoped to play his sport in college and height is very important for his position. It will likely hurt his college recruiting chances. I know a sport might not seem important but playing his sport helps his mood so it is very important to his well-being. I’m not anti-meds as I’ve seen what a tremendous help they were for my oldest but for DS they have helped very minimally even though we are constantly changing meds and doses. The doctor never mentioned one word about growth. I would have stopped the meds after a few failed attempts had I known.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realized it too late. My son didn’t grow from 14 1/2 to almost 16. When I started researching about growth issues teens I realized there are a few studies that link ssri’s and height. We discontinued the ssri. Maybe it was too late because he hasn’t grown since 14 1/2 and he is 17 1/2 now and substantially shorter than his two siblings.

He really needed the medication so not sure in hindsight what we should have done.

Maybe this is what happened to my son? He’s always been 75%+ for height. He started to have a huge growth spurt just before starting SSRIs. Then it just stopped. He was 14. Now he’s 16 and hasn’t even grown an inch. He likely is done. He’s fallen to 50%. It’s upsetting to him because he hoped to play his sport in college and height is very important for his position. It will likely hurt his college recruiting chances. I know a sport might not seem important but playing his sport helps his mood so it is very important to his well-being. I’m not anti-meds as I’ve seen what a tremendous help they were for my oldest but for DS they have helped very minimally even though we are constantly changing meds and doses. The doctor never mentioned one word about growth. I would have stopped the meds after a few failed attempts had I known.

At least he is in the 50th percentile. My son was in the 30th and now is in the 5-10th. He literally stopped growing when he started taking the SSRI. One study says:
Failure to grow in height was associated with the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in pediatric patients, according to study results presented at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) 2023 Annual Meeting, held from October 23 to 28, 2023 in New York, New York.

The most concerning was Setraline, which my son was on.

[Anonymous]

My daughter has been on SSRIs since she was 8 and is now taller than I am and at least as tall as genetics would predict. I have never seen anything that suggests a connection between growth and SSRIs. In fact, she ate more when we had the anxiety under control.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realized it too late. My son didn’t grow from 14 1/2 to almost 16. When I started researching about growth issues teens I realized there are a few studies that link ssri’s and height. We discontinued the ssri. Maybe it was too late because he hasn’t grown since 14 1/2 and he is 17 1/2 now and substantially shorter than his two siblings.

He really needed the medication so not sure in hindsight what we should have done.

Maybe this is what happened to my son? He’s always been 75%+ for height. He started to have a huge growth spurt just before starting SSRIs. Then it just stopped. He was 14. Now he’s 16 and hasn’t even grown an inch. He likely is done. He’s fallen to 50%. It’s upsetting to him because he hoped to play his sport in college and height is very important for his position. It will likely hurt his college recruiting chances. I know a sport might not seem important but playing his sport helps his mood so it is very important to his well-being. I’m not anti-meds as I’ve seen what a tremendous help they were for my oldest but for DS they have helped very minimally even though we are constantly changing meds and doses. The doctor never mentioned one word about growth. I would have stopped the meds after a few failed attempts had I known.

At least he is in the 50th percentile. My son was in the 30th and now is in the 5-10th. He literally stopped growing when he started taking the SSRI. One study says:
Failure to grow in height was associated with the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in pediatric patients, according to study results presented at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) 2023 Annual Meeting, held from October 23 to 28, 2023 in New York, New York.

The most concerning was Setraline, which my son was on.

I am so upset. We had the same experience and we would have stopped had we had even the slightest hint. WTH psychiatrist.

[Anonymous]

My DS that's been on SSRI's since 4th grade is taller than his father. My 2nd DS who has never been on them is shorter than his father (same father).

I was aware there was a slight risk of reduced height. It's been years since I read the studies but I believe the ageless of height was about 0.25 inches - not much.

YMMV. In our case, acceptable. The impacts of depression/anxiety were far more worrisome. How would 0.25 inch benefit our DS if his mental health was in ruins?

[Anonymous]

Link to study: https://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/reports/treatment-with-ssris-during-puberty-impacts-height/#:~:text=Treatment%20with%20SSRIs%20during%20childhood,and%20insulin%20growth%20factor%20levels.

Only 66 kids in the study.

[Anonymous]

My hot take is that if your child is suffering enough that you’re considering putting them on SSRIs, you should not be worried about height. If your child is suffering at a level that height concerns outweigh mental health concerns, you shouldn’t be considering medication in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My hot take is that if your child is suffering enough that you’re considering putting them on SSRIs, you should not be worried about height. If your child is suffering at a level that height concerns outweigh mental health concerns, you shouldn’t be considering medication in the first place.

+1

But if this is a well-studied side effect it’s good to be aware of it nonetheless