Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: The cross-sectional study was designed to assess the psychosocial profiles of patients with acromegaly and with non-functioning adenomas in correlation with the severity of the diseases.

Methods: Forty-one patients with acromegaly and thirty-one with non-functioning adenomas underwent a cross-sectional assessment regarding their socio-demographic and medical profiles, including the quality of life, psychiatric morbidity, and acceptance of illness. Patients with acromegaly were divided into three subgroups accordingly to minimal GH concentration during the OGTT and IGF1 concentration: cured acromegaly group, well-controled acromegalic group, and active acromegaly group.

Results: The acromegaly group in total had mean age 52.31±14.81, and mean duration of illness since diagnosis of 8.71±8.69 years. The average ACROQOL score was 55.38±16.33, with the mean physical dimension score of 53.05±20.70 and mean psychological dimension of 56.72±15.73. Age, quality of life and acceptance of illness were factors not associated in acromegaly vs non-functioning adenomas comparison. About 40.48% of acromegaly patients and 53.13% of non-functioning adenomas patients scored positive indicating presence of psychiatric morbidity on the GHQ-28. Compared to the GHQ-negative group in all subjects, the GHQ-positive group had significantly poorer quality of life in physical health domain measured with WHO Quality of Life- BREF (P<0.001) and lower scores in AIS scale (P<0.01). Further statistical analyses groups divided by severity and progress of the disease are currently performed and will be presented at the congress.

Conclusion: Results of the study indicated that patients with pituitary adenomas may have mental co-morbidities and psychosocial problems. The coexistence of mental disease disorder may have impact on the quality of life, as well as on the acceptance of illness depends and activity of the disease.