Physical activities in daily life and functional capacity compared to disease activity control in acromegalic patients: impact in self-reported quality of life.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the quality of life and its association with daily physical activity and disease control in acromegalic patients.


METHODS
A cross-sectional, case series study, composed of 42 patients recruited from the Neuroendocrinology Unit of the University Hospital of Brasilia. Level of physical activity was accessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ 6-short-form), which evaluates the weekly time spent on physical activity of moderate to vigorous intensity in different contexts of life. Quality of life was evaluated by The Medical Outcome Study Questionnaire Short Form (SF-36). Data was compared to growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) levels. Students' t test and Fisher test were used, p < 0.05, SPSS 17.0.


RESULTS
Twenty-two women, aged 51.33 ± 14.33 and 20 men, aged 46.2 ± 13.18 were evaluated. Arthralgia was present in 83% of cases. In men, the most common sites of pain were the knees (73%), spine (47% lumbar, and 53% thoracic and cervical segments), hands and wrists (40%). Higher scores on SF-36 were observed in patients with intermediate or high levels of physical activity, in the domains social functioning (75 CI 57.3-92.6), general health (75.5 CI 60.4-90.5), mental health (70 CI 57.8-82.1).


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, the presence and severity of physical disability and pain were not associated with initial GH and IGF-1 levels or time of exposure to GH excess. However, the patients considered controlled, with normal a normal age-adjusted IGF-1, presented higher scores in SF-36, in physical and emotional domains, compared with patients with persistent hypersomatotrophism. These findings suggest benefits of metabolic control in self-reported quality of life.
Renata Aparecida Elias
RA
Dantas
Karine Elias
KE
Passos
Lara Benigno
LB
Porto
Juliano Coelho Oliveira
JC
Zakir
Marcia Cristina
MC
Reis
Luciana Ansaneli
LA
Naves
D000172:Acromegaly / Q000378:metabolism*; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000236:Adenoma / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D019382:Human Growth Hormone / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D019382:Human Growth Hormone; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I