Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Anxiety level is higher in the samples consisting of people diagnosed with pituitary adenoma, including patients with acromegaly, compared to the normal population. A higher level of anxiety indicates a lower Quality of Life (QoL) in acromegaly. This study aimed to evaluate and discuss the possible relationship between anxiety and NS in people with acromegaly.

Method: This cross-sectional comparative study included an acromegaly group (AG, n=33) and cases group without acromegaly (CG, n=30). People with a history of stroke with a current or past diagnosis of any psychiatric disorder or on steroid therapy were excluded. The data were collected with a Demographic Data Form, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Short Form (SF-36), SF-36 has subscales as general health, physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health, energy/fatigue, emotional well-being, social functioning, and pain. Also, levels of allopregnanolone (AP), pregnenolone (PRG), 24S-hydroxycholesterol (24OHC), dehydro-epiandrosterone (DHEA), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) and androsterone (ADT) as neurosteroids (NS) are measured in this study.

Results: There were statistically significant differences between the AG and the CG for BAI, general health, physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health, energy/fatigue, social functioning, and pain by the Mann–Whitney U test (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P <0.001, P <0.001, P < 0.001, P=0.017, P < 0.001, P < 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between the acromegaly and the control groups for DHEA (Median of AG:6.37, Median of CG:9.48) and 24OHC (Median of AG:8.70, Median of CG:44.25) by the Mann–Whitney U test (P=0.007, P=0.002). There are relationships between emotional well-being and 24OHC, between energy/fatigue and DHEA, and between energy/fatigue and DHEAS (r=0.39, P=0.044; r=0.465, P=0.014; r=0.443, P=0.021) in AG. There are relationships between BAI and general health, energy/fatigue, emotional well-being, social functioning (r=0.455, P=0.008; r=0.442, P=0.01; r=0.412, P=0.017; r=0.456, P=0.008) in AG.

Conclusion: Variation may occur in levels of anxiety and QoL in acromegaly. Levels of neurosteroids may contribute to it for people with acromegaly. Further research, about functions of neurosteroids may contribute to identifying possible pathophysiological processes.