Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Acromegaly is a disease associated with increased secretion of growth hormone and subsequent growth of bones, soft tissues and internal organs. An important factor influencing therapeutic treatment in recent years is the patient’s quality of life associated with the disease. In patients with acromegaly, it is significantly affected by the occurrence of depression and anxiety - agents undergoing treatment, which, however, still appear undiagnosed.

Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to assess the quality of life of patients with acromegaly based on the ACROQoL questionnaire with particular emphasis on depression (based on Beck’s scale) and the assessment of patients’ expectations regarding psychological care and its type.

Material and methods: The study included 59 patients with acromegaly: 38 women and 21 men, the mean age of 53.25 years ±12.46, (range 19–79 years) treated for acromegaly in the Department of Endocrinology in 2016–2017. Patients personally completed standardized questionnaires of the scale of Beck and ACROQoL extended with questions about preferences as to the form of psychological help. Data analysis was carried out in the Statistica 13.1 program. Statistically significant the value of P<0.05 was considered.

Results: Patients have shown a poorer quality of life in the physical and physiological spheres (psychological part), while the sphere of relationships had better scoring. The quality of life measured by the questionnaire did not correlate with age, nor depended on the presence of accompanying diseases or biochemical parameters. The AcroQoL result was inversely proportional to the Beck scale score (r – 0.6, P<0.001). All patients with a higher AcroQoL score received a score of 0–13 points in the Beck scale. The Beck scale score is an independent predictor (destimulator) of AcroQoL. There were no differences between women and men in quality of life or other parameters. In patients below the age of 60, a lower quality of life was observed. This group more often searched for psychological help and was interested in various its forms, mainly consultation in the clinic (38.5%).

Conclusions: 1. Improving the quality of life should be one of the goals of treatment of acromegaly. The routine AcroQoL questionnaire can help optimize the treatment of acromegalic patients.

2. The occurrence of depression worsens the quality of life in patients with acromegaly.

3. Patients interested in psychological help do not always actively looking for it themselves. Hence, the proper medical practice is to offer it to the attending physician.