IMPAIRED SOCIAL-STATUS OF GROWTH-HORMONE DEFICIENT ADULTS AS COMPAREDTO CONTROLS WITH SHORT OR NORMAL STATURE

OBJECTIVES In adults with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) social probl ems have been reported, but so far the relative contributions of GHD, additional pituitary deficiencies and short stature have not been dist inguished. We therefore compared social data from GHD patients with so cial data from controls with short or normal stature. Furthermore we i nvestigated whether social problems are caused solely by the deficienc y of GH or also by the associated absence of other pituitary hormones. DESIGN A questionnaire was sent to patients and controls with items o n education, profession, income, partner and living situation. PATIENT S Two hundred and ten GHD patients treated in childhood but not in adu lthood with GH (93 isolated GHD (IGHD), 111 patients with multiple pit uitary deficiency (MPD)) were compared with 53 short controls (height in childhood<third percentile for population) and 39 normal stature co ntrols. RESULTS There were no differences between short and normal con trols. There were also no differences between IGHD and MPD patients in any of the investigated items. GHD patients did not differ from contr ols on education level, but scored lower on the profession scale, had a lower income and had a partner less often; if they had a partner the y less often had children; also, more of them lived with their parents . CONCLUSION Since patients with multiple pituitary deficiency did not differ from patients with isolated growth hormone deficiency, this su ggests that the lower scores on the social parameters are the result o f the growth hormone deficiency itself. Since short stature controls h ad higher scores than patients with growth hormone deficiency and did not differ from normal stature controls in any of the aspects investig ated, it seems unlikely that the problems of the patients with growth hormone deficiency can be attributed to short stature.