title: Quality-of-life in patients with post-traumatic hypopituitarism.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hypopituitarism is a frequent complication in patients after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Both TBI and hypopituitarism can lead to complex cognitive and affective deficits. This study was intended to examine the quality-of-life in patients with post-traumatic hypopituitarism (PTH) and to discern the effect of this endocrinological disorder on general outcome of patients after TBI including earning capacity. Research type: Retrospective analysis of clinical data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-seven symptomatic patients were screened after TBI for PTH. Their results were examined in the SF-36 [a standardized questionnaire for quality of life (QoL)] comparing the groups with or without PTH. After 6 months of hormone substitution (if necessary), patients were asked to repeat the SF-36.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-six patients were diagnosed with PTH (47.5%). All patients included had a significantly lower QoL compared to the standard population. QoL was significantly worse in patients with PTH. There was no significant difference with regard to earning capacity. After hormone substitution, patients achieved better SF-36-results, albeit the difference was lacking statistical significance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PTH is frequent after TBI. PTH turns out to further diminish QoL, without affecting earning capacity. Hormone substitution might improve QoL in patients with PTH, but future research is needed to confirm this hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: St Elisabeth-Krankenhaus Köln-Hohenlind , Köln , Germany .
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nourollahi
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wille
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Weiß
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wedekind
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lippert-Grüner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007018:Hypopituitarism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D010907:Pituitary Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D062707:Return to Work / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation
chemical_list: D010907:Pituitary Hormones
keywords: Earning capacity; SF-36; hypopituitarism; quality-of-life; return-to-work; traumatic brain injury