"Sons, I'll make you taller"... Children receiving expensive hormone injections worth 10 million won

Growth Hormone Treatment Doubled in 2 Years
Injections Given Even Without Short Stature Diagnosis
Cumulative 300 Billion Won... "Need for Reality Check"

The number of adolescents receiving growth hormone treatment in South Korea has recently increased sharply. Most of them receive intensive treatment around the age of 5, during their kindergarten years.

According to data received on the 21st from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service by Ahn Min-seok, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, approximately 25,300 adolescents received growth hormone treatment covered by health insurance last year. Just two years ago, about 12,500 adolescents were receiving growth hormone treatment. This represents nearly a twofold increase in two years.

More parents are choosing growth hormone therapy to increase their children's height.

The upward trend remains steep. This year, in the first half (January to June) alone, about 25,900 adolescents received growth hormone treatment, already surpassing the previous year's level.

The annual number of prescriptions was approximately 12,500 in 2020, 16,700 in 2021, 25,300 in 2022, and about 25,900 in the first half of this year. Since 2020, the cumulative number of patients prescribed growth hormone treatment has reached around 80,000, with the total amount spent estimated at about 316 billion KRW.

In particular, growth hormone treatment is notably concentrated among children aged 5 in kindergarten through elementary school students. Additionally, the number of children receiving expensive growth hormone injections (about 10 million KRW annually) without a diagnosis such as short stature, and thus not covered by health insurance, is also increasing.

Regarding this, Representative Ahn pointed out, "The domestic growth hormone injection market has more than doubled in sales over the past three years. It is estimated that 30% of this market consists of insured prescriptions, while 70% are non-insured prescriptions," adding, "A government-level investigation and guidelines are necessary to prevent indiscriminate use of growth hormone drugs."

Typically, growth hormone treatment is prescribed long-term for children suffering from growth hormone deficiency conditions such as short stature. For children with small kidneys, it is known that their height can increase by about 30 cm.

However, for children with normal growth hormone levels, clear effects may be difficult to observe. Although the treatment is relatively safe, side effects such as scoliosis, hip dislocation, temporary diabetes, headaches, edema, and vomiting may occur.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.