Disease control and treatment modalities have impact on quality of life in acromegaly evaluated by Acromegaly Quality of Life (AcroQoL) Questionnaire

• DOI: 10.1007/s12020-014-0521-6
• Publication Date: 2015-01-05T02:02:24Z
• Authors: Silvia Vandeva; Maria Yaneva; Emil Natchev; Atanaska Elenkova; Krasimir Kalinov; Sabina Zacharieva
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Human Growth Hormone; Middle Aged; Hypopituitarism; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Cross-Sectional Studies; Hormone Antagonists; Sex Factors; Treatment Outcome; 0302 clinical medicine; Surveys and Questionnaires; Acromegaly; Quality of Life; Humans; Female; Interpersonal Relations; Prospective Studies; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; Somatostatin; Aged

Various factors influence quality of life (QoL) in acromegaly. Whether disease control and treatment approach are related to QoL is still a matter of debate. The aim of the present study was to evaluate QoL in patients with acromegaly using the disease-specific Acromegaly Quality of Life Questionnaire in respect to disease activity, treatment modalities, and other factors. We studied 212 patients with acromegaly in a cross-sectional manner over a 6-year period in a single tertiary center. As a second step, seventy of the patients who were with active disease at baseline were followed up prospectively and 45 of them were in remission at re-evaluation. In regard to the cross-sectional group, active acromegaly independently predicted worse appearance scores. Prior radiotherapy and older age were independent negative predictors of all scales. Female gender negatively predicted all scales except the appearance domain. Longer duration of remission predicted worse personal relations scores in biochemically controlled patients. The use of somatostatin analog (SSA) was associated with worse personal relations scores, while higher IGF-1 index predicted worse appearance scores in patients with active acromegaly. In the prospective group, achievement of remission independently predicted improvement of the total scale. Lower corresponding baseline scores predicted improvement of the total, physical, and appearance scales, while the absence of hypopituitarism independently predicted improvement of the appearance scale. The use of SSA was associated with improvement of the total and appearance scores. In conclusion, QoL is a multifactorial issue that needs an individualized approach for detection and management.