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Endocrine Abstracts (2022) 81 EP37 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.81.EP37

1Clinic for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Department for Obesity, Metabolic and Reproductive Disorders, Belgrade, Serbia; 2Clinic for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, University Clinical Centre of Serbia, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Department for Obesity, Metabolic and Reproductive Disorders, Belgrade, Serbia; 3School of Electrical Engineering, University of Belgrade; 4Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.


Introduction: The incidence of adrenal incidentaloma (AI) increases with age. According to epidemiological studies they are more frequent in women than in men.

Aim: The aim was to determine the possible clinical sexual dimorphism in patients with nonfunctional adrenal incidentaloma (NAI).

Patients and methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional study of 381 patients with AI that were functionally assessed in our Clinic. After exclusion of patients with overt adrenal hyperfunction, malignancy, cysts and patients with (possible) autonomous cortisol secretion the studied group consisted of 195 patients with NAI: 129 female and 66 males. Based on average menopause age of 51, we stratified women in two groups: < 51 and ≧ 51. For the sake of comparison, we age-matched the male group, and evaluated differences in body mass index (BMI), adrenal tumor size (ATS), localization, ACTH, 24 h cortisol, 1 mg dexamethasone suppression cortisol (1 mg DST), and prevalence of hypertension (HTA) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Results: Female sex was predominant in the whole NAI cohort (F/M %: 66.1/33.8) as well as in both age groups (< 51, 44 patients – F/M %: 61.3/38.6 and ≧ 51, 151 patients – F/M %: 67.5/32.4) with no difference in gender frequency between younger and older patients. There was no difference in age, BMI, ATS, localization, ACTH, 24 h cortisol, 1 mg DST cortisol, HTA and T2DM prevalence between female and male patients. Upon stratification by age, older female patients had significantly higher BMI (P=0.002), higher 24 h cortisol (P=0.017) and more prevalent T2DM (P=0.003) than younger female patients, while HTA was equally prevalent in both female groups. In a linear regression, BMI was the most significant predictor of HTA in premenopausal female patients (B=0.552, 95%CI B=0.006–0.102, P=0.028).

Conclusion: Despite younger age and significantly lower BMI in premenopausal women with NAI, the frequency of HTA was the same as in the menopausal group with BMI being the most significant predictor. Our results add to the body of evidence that female gender plays a role as a cardiometabolic risk factor in NAI patients indicating the existence of clinical sexual dimorphism in patients with NAI.

Volume 81

European Congress of Endocrinology 2022

Milan, Italy
21 May 2022 - 24 May 2022

European Society of Endocrinology 

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