Evaluation of the relationship between clinical features and quality of life in acromegaly patients

Acromegaly is a rare disease that develops with the hypersecretion of growth hormone (GH) from adenoma originating from somatotroph cells in the pituitary gland. Clinical findings are observed due to the local effects of the tumor or the metabolic effects of GH and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Surgical treatment, somatostatin receptor ligands, radiotherapy and appropriate combinations are used in the treatment. There is a deterioration in the quality of life of patients due to accompanying metabolic, physical and psychological problems. Quality of life in acromegaly patients is evaluated with general quality of life scales or AcroQoL, a disease-specific quality of life scale. In our study, we aimed to determine the characteristics that affect the quality of life of 42 acromegaly patients followed in our clinic. The average age of the patients was 54.76±11.5, 45.2% (n=19) were female, and the average age at diagnosis was 42.26±1.62. 50% (n=21) of the patients had hypertension (HT), 38.1% (n=16) had diabetes mellitus (DM), 28.6% (n=12) had cardiac pathology, 16.6% (n=7) had a history of malignancy, nodule in the thyroid gland was observed in 64.3% (n = 27), multinodular goiter (MNG) was observed in 26.2% (n = 11) and pituitary insufficiency was observed in 35.7% (n = 15). 76.2% (n=32) were operated on, 69% (n=29) were treated with octreotide, 35.7% (n=15) were treated with lanreotide, and 52.4% (n=22) had received cabergoline treatment. There were 9 patients (21.4%) who received radiotherapy. Male gender, older age, being diagnosed at a later age, low body mass index (BMI), low body weight, and having less body fat were associated with higher scores on all quality of life questionnaires or most subgroup measurements. Low adenoma size at the time of diagnosis, prior radiotherapy, not having cardiac pathology, HT, thyroid nodule and MNG were found to be associated with higher scores in some subgroup measurements of the quality of life questionnaires. In order to improve the quality of life of patients, it will be useful to evaluate accompanying comorbidities with a multidisciplinary approach, train healthcare professionals for early diagnosis, and monitor BMI, body weight, and body fat ratio during follow-up. Key Words: acromegaly, quality of life, AcroQoL, bioimpedance