Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT3653

Objective: The aim is to evaluate the hedonic hunger and its effects on eating behaviors in patients with acromegaly characterized by excess growth hormone, compared to individuals with non-functional pituitary adenoma and those without pituitary disease.

Materials and Methods: The study included 55 patients with acromegaly, 39 patients with non-functional pituitary adenoma, and 34 healthy volunteers followed at the Endocrinology and Metabolism Diseases Pituitary Clinic of Ege University Medical Faculty Hospital. Sociodemographic characteristics, chronic diseases, fasting plasma glucose, and HbA1c values were obtained from participants. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the square of the height in meters. The Hedonic Hunger Scale (HHS) was used, and eating behaviors were assessed through face-to-face interviews using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was also applied through face-to-face interviews to identify potential psychiatric conditions.

Results: Median age of acromegaly and non-functional pituitray adennoma patients was 53 and 54 years old, respectively. Control group was age matched as 53 years old. Twenty out of 53 acromegaly patients were active according to IGF-1 levels. The rest of them were in remission. The average total score of the Hedonic Hunger Scale was found to be significantly higher in the control group compared to the acromegaly group (P <0.05). In the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, the average total score and median values of emotional eating and external eating were significantly higher in the control group compared to the acromegaly group (P <0.05). In the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Questionnaire, the depression subscale was found to be higher in the acromegaly group compared to the non-functional adenoma group, and this difference was statistically significant (P <0.05).

Conclusion: Eating behavior is regulated by a complex structure governed by homeostatic and hedonic systems, influenced by numerous central and peripheral signals. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study assessing hedonic hunger in acromegaly. The status of education, income and the relatioship between growth hormone and ghrelin may affect hedonic hunger. It should be needed to evaluate treatment naive and post treatment acromegaly patients to explain the effect of growth hormone on hedonic hunger.