Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Acromegaly: New Treatment Focus

Abstract

The assessment of the quality of life related to health (HRQoL) is an important parameter that informs the doctor about how the patient interacts with his illness in everyday life and how he reacts to certain aspects related to the disease. In addition to medical problems related to the consequences of the disease and treatment, the patient's expectations regarding the treatment, his subjective assessment of what is happening and the cultural level, as well as related life events, affect the HRQoL. This is especially important for patients with chronic diseases requiring long-term treatment, such as acromegaly. According to various studies, the normalization of hormonal parameters in acromegaly does not lead to a complete restoration of HRQoL. On the one hand, in patients with acromegaly, the HRQoL is worse than in the general population, and first of all it affects the area of physical manifestations. So, the indicators of appearance, general health and physical activity are most often affected. On the other hand, various parameters of the quality of life questionnaires for acromegaly may be more sensitive to detect changes in the condition of patients during treatment, even with optimal indicators of insulin-like growth factor 1. Further study of the relationship between the parameters of quality of life and changes in hormonal status should be the key to improving the long-term prognosis of treatment.