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Acromegaly worsens quality of life despite disease control
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Adults with acromegaly report impaired quality of life compared with adults without the disease, and the impairments remain despite long-term disease control, according to findings published in Clinical Endocrinology.
Robert D. Murray, MD, FRCP, of the Leeds Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, St. James University Hospital in the United Kingdom, and colleagues evaluated data from 58 adults (mean age, 55.4 years) with acromegaly and 116 age- and sex-matched controls (mean age, 55 years) to determine factors that influence quality of life. Assessment of quality of life was performed a mean 11.6 years after diagnosis.
A subset of 28 of the participants with acromegaly who completed baseline quality-of-life questionnaires before 2010 were invited for a second quality-of-life examination a mean 5.7 years after the first assessment.
Researchers evaluated health-related quality of life with the disease-specific Acromegaly Quality of Life questionnaire, the Psychological General Well-Being Schedule, the 36-item Short-Form and the EuroQoL.
Compared with controls, adults with acromegaly had significantly lower median total scores on all quality-of-life questionnaires and subscales except for the Psychological General Well-Being Schedule “anxiety” subscale. The greatest differences in scores on subscales between controls and participants with acromegaly were found for physical subscales.
Total and all subscale scores for disease-specific Acromegaly Quality of Life questionnaire were associated with duration of insulin-like growth factor I control; total scores for disease-specific Acromegaly Quality of Life questionnaire and scores for the “appearance,” “personal relationships” and total Psychological General Well-Being Schedule scores were associated with duration of growth hormone control.
Higher quality-of-life scores on the disease-specific Acromegaly Quality of Life questionnaire “psychical” subscale, 36-item Short-Form and the EuroQoL were associated with female sex.
There were no significant differences in quality-of-life scores among participants who also completed the second quality-of-life evaluation.
“Early diagnosis and effective treatment to minimize the duration of active disease may contribute to patients’ sustaining improved [health-related quality of life] in the long term,” the researchers wrote. “Additionally, we advocate a more holistic approach for the follow-up of patients previously treated for acromegaly, in which the focus of clinical care would be not only on aggressive biochemical disease control, but also on managing the physical and psychosocial comorbidities associated with acromegaly, as both aspects impact on patients’ perceived [health-related quality-of-life] outcomes.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: Murray reports various financial ties with Ipsen UK and Pfizer UK.
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