"Spine Breaker" Height Growth Injection... "Costs 10 Million KRW per Year, but Effectiveness Not Confirmed"

Not Verified for Simply Short Average People
"Misused Parts Must Be Managed and Supervised"

Concerns have been raised that the effectiveness of the so-called 'height-increasing injections' has not been confirmed.

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On the 25th, Kim Young-joo, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, analyzed data received from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the National Health Insurance Service, and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. The analysis revealed that the safety and efficacy of the so-called 'height-increasing drugs' and 'height-increasing injections' prescribed by domestic medical institutions have not been confirmed.

However, growth hormone treatments, also referred to as 'height-increasing drugs' or 'height-increasing injections,' are actively used in university hospitals, general hospitals, and growth clinics.

From 2021 to September 2023, 10.66 million units of growth hormone pharmaceuticals were supplied to medical institutions, of which only about 3%, or 307,000 units, were covered by health insurance benefits. The remainder were prescribed without insurance coverage to children and adolescents without short stature or related diseases.

The unit price of growth hormone pharmaceuticals delivered to medical institutions ranged from a minimum of 12,521 KRW to a maximum of 1.35 million KRW.

It is known that in some cases, the annual cost of the medication can reach 10 million KRW, which has earned the 'height-increasing injection' a notorious reputation among parents of growing children as a 'deunggol breaker' (a costly product that burdens the spine).

Kim Young-joo, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Representative Kim stated, "There are a total of 24 growth hormone biopharmaceuticals prescribed in domestic medical institutions, but clinical trials have only been conducted on patients with growth hormone deficiencies such as Turner syndrome."

Upon verifying official data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the office confirmed that these 24 biopharmaceuticals have not undergone clinical trials on the general population.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety also responded that the efficacy of these 24 biopharmaceuticals has not been confirmed in the general population (including children and adolescents).

A study conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs under the Ministry of Health and Welfare on growth hormone treatment for height growth in children and adolescents stated, "The use of growth hormones beyond the approved scope lacks scientific evidence and is not recommended; it should only be applied in clinical research settings." In other words, prescriptions for generally short individuals are not recommended.

Furthermore, Representative Kim pointed out, "Although the efficacy of growth-related biopharmaceuticals has not been confirmed by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, they are being misused in medical institutions as if they help with height growth. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety should manage and supervise the misuse of these drugs beyond their approved purposes."

Meanwhile, health insurance benefits for growth hormone treatments are only recognized for pediatric growth hormone deficiency, Turner syndrome, pediatric chronic renal failure, Prader-Willi syndrome, small for gestational age infants who have not experienced catch-up growth, and short stature due to Noonan syndrome.

Additionally, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has approved these growth hormone treatments for 'idiopathic short stature.' Idiopathic short stature refers to cases where the individual is among the shortest three out of 100 peers without an underlying disease cause. However, in such cases, health insurance does not apply, and the treatment cost is fully borne by the patient.

Literature analysis showed that in cases of idiopathic short stature, some studies reported that those treated were on average about 5 cm taller in adulthood compared to those untreated, but there were also analyses indicating that the treatment effect was not confirmed.

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