Sex differences in acromegaly at diagnosis: A nationwide cohort study and meta-analysis of the literature

Objective Data on sex differences in acromegaly at the time of diagnosis vary considerably between studies. Design A nationwide cohort study including all incident cases of acromegaly (1978-2010, n = 596) and a meta-analysis on sex differences in active acromegaly (40 studies) were performed. Method Sex-dependent differences in prevalence, age at diagnosis, diagnostic delay, pituitary adenoma size, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) and growth hormone (GH) concentrations were estimated. Results The cohort study identified a balanced gender distribution (49.6% females) and a comparable age (years) at diagnosis (48.2 CI95% 46.5-49.8 (males) vs. 47.2 CI95% 45.5-48.9 (females), p = 0.4). The incidence rate significantly increased during the study period (R-2 = 0.42, p < 0.01) and the gender ratio (F/M) changed from female predominance to an even ratio (SR: 1.4 vs. 0.9, p = 0.03). IGF-I-SDS was significantly lower in females compared to males, whereas neither nadir GH nor pituitary adenoma size differed between males and females. In the meta-analysis, the weighted percentage female was 53.3% (CI95% 51.5-55.2) with considerable heterogeneity (I-2 = 85%) among the studies. The mean age difference at diagnosis between genders was 3.1 years (CI95% 1.9-4.4), and the diagnostic delay was longer in females by 0.9 years (CI95% -0.4 to 2.1). Serum IGF-I levels were significantly lower in female patients, whereas nadir GH, and pituitary adenoma size were comparable. Conclusion There are only a minor sex differences in the epidemiology of acromegaly at the time of diagnosis except that female patients are slightly older and exhibit lower IGF-I concentrations and a longer diagnostic delay.

Automated summary

There are only minor differences in the epidemiology of acromegaly at the time of diagnosis between genders, except for the fact that female patients tend to be slightly older, have lower IGF-I concentrations, and experience longer diagnostic delays.