title: Prevalence of mental disorders in acromegaly: a cross-sectional study in 81 acromegalic patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Emotional and behavioural alterations have been described in acromegalic patients. However, the nature and psychopathological value of these changes remained unclear. We examined whether acromegalic patients have an increased prevalence of comorbid DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Version) mental disorders in comparison to subjects with or without chronic somatic disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Max-Planck Institute of Psychiatry and the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich. Eighty-one acromegalic patients were enrolled. Control subjects with (n = 3281) and without chronic somatic (n = 430) disorders were drawn from a representative sample of the German adult general population as part of the Mental Health Supplement of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey. Lifetime and 12-month prevalences of DSM-IV mental disorders were assessed with face-to-face interviews using the standardized German computer-assisted version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Acromegalic patients had increased lifetime rates of affective disorders of 34.6% compared to 21.4% in the group with chronic somatic disorders (OR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.2-3.2) and to 11.1% in the group without chronic somatic disorders (OR = 4.4, 95% CI 2.3-8.7). Affective disorders that occurred significantly more often than in the control groups began during the putative period of already present GH excess. Higher rates of DSM-IV mental disorders were reported in those patients with additional treatment after surgery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Acromegaly is associated with an increased prevalence and a specific pattern of affective disorders. Greater emphasis on diagnosing and treatment of mental disorders in acromegalic patients might improve the disease management.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Endocrinology and Molecular Psychology, Max-Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelinstrasse 2-10, Munich, Germany. csievers@mpipsykl.mpg.de
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sievers
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dimopoulou
authors.forename: Hildegard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pfister
authors.forename: Roselind
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lieb
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Steffin
authors.forename: Josefine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roemmler
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schopohl
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: Harald Jörn
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ising
authors.forename: Hans Ulrich
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Wittchen
authors.forename: Guenter Karl
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Stalla
mesh_terms: D000172:Acromegaly / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged