Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Despite current efforts in trying to accurately identify determinants of impaired quality of life (QoL) in acromegalic patients, studies on this topic are still conflicting and more research is needed in order to improve the well-being of these patients.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study, administering two standardized questionnaires (AcroQol and EuroQol-5D) to 38 acromegalic patients and examined the results alongside data from their medical records.

Results: The study group was composed of 57.9% women and 42.1% men, with a mean age at diagnosis of 44.16±13.95 years. Most of the patients (84.2%) underwent surgical treatment, 57.89% received medical treatment (dopamine agonists, somatostatin analogues, pegvisomant or a combination of these), and 52.63% radiation therapy. Out of 38 patients, 11(28.95%) were cured, 5 (13.16%) had active uncontrolled disease, and 22(57.89%) were in biological remission with current medical therapy. The average value of the AcroQoL score was 69%, range 17.05-97.73%. The median value of visual EuroQol was 80%. The most impaired domain of the EuroQol-5D questionnaire was pain/discomfort, 59.46% patients describing moderate pain, closely followed by mobility, 54.05% presenting walking difficulties. The presence of arterial hypertension was associated with decreased Qol. The AcroQoL score was negatively correlated with the postoperative IGF1 levels (ρ=-0.428, P=0.029). Patients without medical therapy presented higher AcroQoL scores than patients who currently needed treatment (79.23±6.13% vs 64.85±18.54%, P=0.042). The use of radiation therapy was associated with lower global AcroQol scores (60.51±17.8% vs 78.47±18.2%, P=0.04). Patients free of disease showed statistically significantly higher AcroQoL global and subdomain scores as well as EuroQoL-personal and mental care scores compared to those who were not cured.

Conclusions: Early diagnosis, expeditious biochemical control without continuous therapy and management of comorbidities could improve Qol in acromegalic patients.