EFFECT OF ILLNESS ON GROWTH

To the Editor: We have been much interested in the valuable contributions made by Meredith and Knott in their study of illness history and physical growth (Amer. J. Dis. Child. 103:146 [Feb.] 1962). While their conclusions are certainly well documented, this is an area where clinical impressions often exceed the validity of documentation. Accordingly we would like to sound a note of caution lest the reader of their article make more sweeping generalizations than are justified about the effect of chronic illness on physical growth. This generalization might be even more easily made when an abstract of this article (Illness History—Unrelated to Physical Growth, Pediat. Currents 5:19 [May] 1962) alone is the source of information.

Studies at the Children's Asthma Research Institute and Hospital in Denver demonstrated (J. Allergy 32:420, 1961; Amer. J. Dis. Child., this issue) that illness does interfere with growth in this group of children. This variance