Impaired quality of life in patients in long-term remission of Cushing's syndrome of both adrenal and pituitary origin: a remaining effect of long-standing hypercortisolism?
Publication year
2012Source
European Journal of Endocrinology, 167, 5, (2012), pp. 687-695ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

Display more detailsDisplay less details
Organization
Internal Medicine
Medical Psychology
Medical Oncology
Radiology
Health Evidence
Former Organization
Epidemiology, Biostatistics & HTA
Journal title
European Journal of Endocrinology
Volume
vol. 167
Issue
iss. 5
Page start
p. 687
Page end
p. 695
Subject
IGMD 5: Health aging / healthy living NCEBP 14: Cardiovascular diseases; IGMD 6: Hormonal regulation; IGMD 6: Hormonal regulation ONCOL 3: Translational research; NCEBP 1: Molecular epidemiology; NCEBP 8: Psychological determinants of chronic illness ONCOL 4: Quality of CareAbstract
OBJECTIVE: The determinants that cause impaired quality of life (QOL) in patients in long-term remission of Cushing's syndrome (CS) are unknown. The aim of this study was to get more insight into the patient and disease characteristics related to impaired QOL in these patients. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: The QOL of 123 patients in remission of CS (age 52.2+/-12.0 years, 106 women, duration of remission 13.3+/-10.4 years, 80% pituitary CS), assessed with seven validated questionnaires, was compared with the QOL of an age- and sex-matched control group (n=105). To investigate the influence of the aetiology of CS on QOL, patients in remission of pituitary and adrenal CS were compared. Furthermore, the influence of hormonal deficiencies, treatment strategy, duration of remission, gender and age on QOL was investigated. RESULTS: QOL in the total patient group and each patient subgroup was significantly worse on practically all dimensions of questionnaires compared with the control group (P<0.05), except for patients in remission of pituitary CS without hormonal deficiencies who had an impaired QOL on 50% of the QOL dimensions. Subgroup analysis revealed no difference in QOL between different patient groups, especially no difference between patients in remission of adrenal and pituitary CS. Female gender and a shorter duration of remission had a negative influence on QOL in the patient group. CONCLUSIONS: QOL remains impaired in patients in long-term remission of CS regardless of aetiology, presence of hormonal deficiencies and treatment strategies. More research is needed to establish the causes.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [202799]
- Faculty of Medical Sciences [80020]
Upload full text
Use your RU credentials (u/z-number and password) to log in with SURFconext to upload a file for processing by the repository team.