Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Patients with adrenal insufficiency (AI) are known to have a higher cardiovascular risk (CVR) than the normal population. In particular arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, arterial hypertension, hyperlipoproteinemia as well as metabolic disturbances contribute to the increased morbidity and mortality. Aim of this study was to evaluate known cardiovascular risk factors as well as the quality of care by the treating physicians.

Material and Methods: To this end a questionnaire evaluating cardiovascular risk factors was handed out to all participating AI patients. In addition, we screened all medical records for CVR factors and documented the treatment initiated. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS.

Results: In total, 363 AI patients were included in the study. 294 of these patients were found to have one or more cardiovascular risk factors. Although 51 patients suffered from diabetes mellitus, 2/3 still had increased HbA1c values. With respect to hyperlipoproteinemia, only 1/3 of the AI patients reached values in the normal range (n=31). 105 patients were diagnosed with arterial hypertension, of these 26 patients still showed increased values in the outpatient setting. The data shows that 51 patients have a diagnosis of Diabetes mellitus and 30 of them still have high HbA1c values. Furthermore, of the 85 patients with hyperlipoproteinemia only 31 have the blood fat in the normal range and 38 still have high values. For 16 not all of the blood fat values existed. Of 105 patients with hypertension, 44 still have a higher blood pressure.

Conclusion: Our study demonstrates (1) the increased CVR risk in patients with AI, leading to increased morbidity and mortality, (2) AI patients are inadequately monitored and treated for CVR factors, thus having a higher risk of suffering from a cardiovascular event, (3) treating physicians should be aware of this risk to minimize complications where possible