Associations of remission status and lanreotide treatment with quality of life in patients with treated acromegaly

Objective: Acromegaly has an important impact on quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of remission status and lanreotide treatment with QOL in patients with treated acromegaly, by the newly developed disease-generated acromegaly QOL questionnaire (ACROQOL). Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Fifty-two patients with treated acromegaly were recruited to complete the Chinese version of the ACROQOL translated and validated from the English version. These patients were divided into controlled and uncontrolled groups based on the latest remission criteria and further subdivided into four groups according to the present treatment with lanreotide or not. Comparisons between groups were analyzed. Results: There was no difference between controlled and uncontrolled groups in the ACROQOL scores of total score, both scales and psychological subscales. However, in the controlled group, present treatment with lanreotide, in comparison with no treatment, showed worse ACROQOL scores in total score (P=0.021), psychological scale (P=0.011), psychological subscale 'appearance' (P=0.032) and 'personal relations' (P=0.010). Conclusions: The lanreotide treatment was negatively associated with QOL in biochemically controlled acromegalic patients, especially in the psychological aspect.