title: Well-being, mood and calcium homeostasis in patients with hypoparathyroidism receiving standard treatment with calcium and vitamin D.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Standard treatment in hypoparathyroidism consists of calcium and vitamin D (or vitamin D analogs) but does not employ replacement of the actual missing hormone. Only few studies have evaluated the efficacy of calcium/vitamin D treatment in hypoparathyroidism; the impact of chronic hypoparathyroid disease on well-being has not been investigated previously.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional, controlled study in 25 unselected women with postsurgical hypoparathyroidism since 6.4plus minus8.0 years (s.d.) on stable treatment with calcium and vitamin D (or analogs) and in 25 controls with a history of thyroid surgery but intact parathyroid function, who were matched for sex, age and time since surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Assessment of well-being and mood using validated questionnaires (the revised version Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90-R); the Giessen Complaint List (GBB-24); and the von Zerssen Symptom List (B-L Zerssen)), serum and urinary calcium/phosphorus homeostasis, and in the hypoparathyroid patients also screening for secondary disease by kidney ultrasound, ophthalmological split lamp examination, and measurement of bone mineral density.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum calcium was in the accepted therapeutic range in the majority of hypoparathyroid patients. However, calcium/phosphorus homeostasis as a whole was clearly non-physiological. Nephrolithiasis was detected in 2 and cataracts in 11 of 25 hypoparathyroid patients. As compared with controls, hypoparathyroid patients had significantly higher global complaint scores in GBB-24 (P=0.036), B-L Zerssen (P=0.002) and SCL-90-R (P=0.020) with predominant increases in the subscale scores for anxiety, phobic anxiety and their physical equivalents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Current standard treatment in hypoparathyroidism is not only associated with an altered calcium/phosphorus homeostasis but also fails to restore well-being in these patients. Future studies need to address the impact of more physiological treatment options like parathyroid hormone(1-34) or parathyroid transplantation on well-being and mood in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Endocrine and Diabetes Unit, University of Wuerzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Wiebke
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Arlt
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fremerey
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Callies
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reincke
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Timmermann
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Allolio
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000652:urine; D002386:Cataract / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007011:Hypoparathyroidism / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology; D007669:Kidney Calculi / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000097:blood; D011788:Quality of Life; D012016:Reference Values; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D; D010758:Phosphorus; D002118:Calcium