TOPLINE:

Among patients with acromegaly, women reported a significantly higher symptom burden, more musculoskeletal comorbidities, higher perceived need for treatment, and poorer physical and mental quality of life (QOL) than men.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers in Germany conducted a multicentre cross-sectional study to assess sex-specific differences in subjective disease burden, comorbidities, treatment experience and satisfaction, and QOL in patients with acromegaly.
• They included 63 patients with biochemically confirmed acromegaly, of whom 47.6% were men (mean age, 53.67 years) and 52.4% were women (mean age, 58.24 years).
• Data on sociodemographic characteristics, current disease status, subjective symptom load, comorbidities, therapy course, doctor-patient communication, treatment satisfaction, and perceived therapy needs were collected using self-developed questionnaires.
• Physical and mental QOL, work productivity and activity impairment, health-related anxiety, self-efficacy, and patient-doctor relationship were evaluated using validated short scales.

TAKEAWAY:

• Among patients with acromegaly, women had a significantly higher symptom burden than men (P = .001), with 30.3% vs 16.7% experiencing serious or life-threatening comorbidities (P = .003); 76% of women vs 43% of men suffered from musculoskeletal disease.
• Compared with men, women experienced significantly lower physical QOL (P = .001) and mental QOL (P = .037).
• Women reported higher health-related anxiety (P = .012) and expressed a greater perceived need for treatment (P = .045) than men. No significant difference in the patient-doctor relationship was observed between women and men.

IN PRACTICE:

"Our findings, including the subjective treatment experiences, point to the role of comorbidities and differences in treatment outcome in shaping this disparity and underscore the need for patient-centered, gender-sensitive approaches to acromegaly care," the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Lilith Philomena Laflör, Department of Neurosurgery and Spine Surgery, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany. It was published online on April 15, 2026, in the Journal of Endocrinological Investigation.

LIMITATIONS:

The cross-sectional design prevented conclusions about causality or the direction of associations between sex, comorbidities, treatment satisfaction, and QOL. The modest sample size limited statistical power and subgroup analyses. The classification of biochemical control was based on self-reported insulin-like growth factor 1 levels, introducing potential error.

DISCLOSURES:

This study received funding through an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer Pharma Company. Several authors declared receiving research support, travel grants, lecture or advisory board honoraria, and/or consultation fees from various pharmaceutical companies.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.