COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF DIAGNOSTIC RESULTS IN PATIENTS WITH ACROMEGALY ACCORDING TO THE REGISTRY DATA

Аннотация

Acromegaly is a disease characterized by growth hormone (GH) hypersecretion, multisystem comorbidities, and increased mortality (1, 2).Some studies estimate the incidence of acromegaly to be 86-240 people per million population [3,4], in other studies, although its prevalence is estimated at 40-70 people per million [5,6]. Despite the striking clinical manifestations of acromegaly, diagnosing the disease in the early stages can be difficult due to its hidden nature, which means that neither the patient, nor his relatives, nor doctors may notice these changes. Unfortunately, a significant amount of time can pass between the initial appearance of symptoms of the disease and diagnosis, from 3-5 to 7-10 years [7–9]. Delayed diagnosis and, consequently, lack of timely initiation of treatment lead to the development of severe complications of the disease and an increased risk of mortality [7,10,eleven]. Additionally, delay in diagnosis has been associated with decreased quality of life [9,12], psychosocial disorders, including depression, body image distortion and social withdrawal [13,14].