title: Specific behaviour, mood and personality traits may contribute to obesity in patients with craniopharyngioma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with craniopharyngioma (CP) often suffer from obesity, but the underlying causes are still not fully understood. We compared CP to patients with nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA) and to a control group (CG) using standardized questionnaires to investigate whether behavioural, mood or personality traits contribute to obesity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared 31 patients with CP (42% male, 53 ± 15·1 years) to 26 patients with NFPA (71% male, 63·2 ± 10·3 years) and to age- and gender-matched local CG (ratio 2:1). Normative data from the literature are included for reference. Patients were asked to complete eleven standardized questionnaires. Two questionnaires were used to evaluate eating disorders (FEV, EDE-Q), one depression (BDI), one anxiety (STAI), three health-related quality of life (SF-36, EuroQoL, QoL-AGHDA), one sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), two personality (EPQ-RK, TPQ) and one body image (FKB-20).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with CP scored significantly higher in conscious hunger perception (FEV, CP 5·8 ± 3·2 scores, NFPA 3·6 ± 3·3 scores, CG 3·0 ± 2·5, P < 0·001). They had similar scores for BDI compared with NFPA, but higher scores to CG (P < 0·001, CP 10·6 ± 8·3, NFPA 7·5 ± 5·7, CG 4·96 ± 4·2). CP and NFPA scored higher than CG for anxiety and personality traits such as harm avoidance, fatigability and asthenia and slightly higher for neuroticism. No differences were seen for EDE-Q, quality of life, daytime sleepiness and body image between CP and NFPA. However, differences could be observed to normative data from the literature.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obesity in patients with CP might be influenced by eating disorders, negative mood alterations and increased anxiety-related personality traits.
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik IV, Klinikum der Universität München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roemmler-Zehrer
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Geigenberger
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Störmann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ising
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pfister
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sievers
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Stalla
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schopohl
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology; D000368:Aged; D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003397:Craniopharyngioma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*