Aim: Little is known about body image in children with endocrine conditions. We evaluated body image in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), familial male precocious puberty (FMPP), and Cushing's syndrome (CS).
Study design: We compared 67 patients (41 CAH, 12 FMPP, 14 CS) age 8-18 years with 55 age-matched controls.
Results: Patients expressed more weight unhappiness than controls (females: p < 0.001; males: p = 0.01). This difference remained for females after adjusting for body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.03), but not for males (p = 0.12). Unhappiness with height and age of appearance was similar between groups. In female patients, higher BMI was a significant predictor of weight unhappiness (p = 0.01).
Conclusion: Adolescents with CAH, FMPP, and CS are at risk for negative body image regarding weight, but not height or age of appearance. Weight unhappiness is partially related to greater weight, but factors unrelated to physical findings seem to contribute to negative body image in female patients.