IntroductionActive acromegaly is a rare chronic endocrine disorder caused by excessive growth hormone (GH). Clinical studies suggest that cognitive performance is impaired in acromegaly – particularly executive function as well as short- and long-term memory. This study compared the quality of life (QoL) and executive functioning in acromegaly patients vs healthy controls.Materials and methodsThis was an observational case–control study on 38 subjects divided into 19 acromegaly patients and 19 matched controls. The groups were evaluated for QoL, attention, and executive function. All subjects completed Acromegaly Quality of Life Questionnaire (AcroQoL), Trail Making Test (parts A and B), Stroop, and phonemic fluency tests.ResultsAcromegaly patients had an AcroQoL global score that was significantly lower than controls. There were significant differences between the acromegaly group and the control group in terms of the physical effects (P=0.001) and appearance (P<0.001) but not for personal relationships (P=0.421). Acromegaly patients performed worse in the trail making test part B. They provided significantly fewer words than healthy subjects in phonemic fluency testing. Although patients performed generally worse than controls, no significant differences were noted in the trail making test part A, Stroop test, and the constrained phonemic fluency.ConclusionAcromegaly patients display worse executive functioning than healthy controls and have a decreased QoL.

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Purpose: Quality of life (Qol) is undoubtedly important for patient case management. The current goal of a treatment extends therefore beyond biochemical monitoring, including the physical, mental and social state of wellbeing. We aimed to correlate disease activity with the perception of Qol in acromegalic patients. Methods: We performed a single center cross-sectional study on 26 patients: 9 men (34.6%) and 17 women (65.4%), with a mean age of 53 ± 11.5 years. Eleven patients (42.3%) had a biochemically controlled disease, while 15 subjects (57.7%) had an active disease. Results: The mean total score of the quality of life was 60.9 ± 12.6 in women, ranging from 40 to 85, while for men, the mean total score was of 64.04 ± 14.78, ranging from 42 to 85 (p=0.575). There was no significant difference between the mean AcroQol scores of patients with controlled or active disease (62.54 ± 13.42 vs 61.23 ± 13.46, p = 0.804). Patients younger than 60 had a significantly lower total score compared to older patients, (58.36 ± 14.17 vs 64.26 ± 12.44, p=0.047). Rural residents also scored lower than patients belonging to the urban region: (58.18 ± 11.21 vs 67.19 ± 14.39, p=0.048). Disease duration was negatively correlated with total score on AcroQol (r =-0.253, p= 0.045). We did not find significant correlations between GH and IGF1 levels and AcroQol (p=0,622 and p = 0.844, respectively). Conclusions: We found no significant differences between males and females, as well as between patients with active and controlled disease regarding the Qol, but other factors like 72/Bulletin of Integrative Psychiatry New Series  December 2019  Year XXV  No. 4 (83) age or locality provenience may play some role for the perceived health status and quality of life in acromegalic patients