Assessment of the Demographic Characteristics and the Quality of Life in Patients with Pituitary Adenoma in a Referral Pituitary Center in Tehran in 2011

Pituitary adenoma (PA) is one of the most common intracranial tumors. In recent years, some research has been done on patients with PA. Given the lack of similar research in Iran, this study was conducted to assess the demographic characteristics and the quality of life among Iranian patients with PA. This study was a cross- sectional- descriptive survey. In 2011, two hundred and fifty patients accepted to participate in this study, using convenience sampling method. Data were collected using EORTC QoL-C30(European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life). Independent two-sample t-test, one-way ANOVA and chi-square tests were used for data analysis. Two hundred and fifty Respondents were from those in the 15 to 82 age group and mean age of 44.80±14.16 years. The study results revealed that the most common tumors among the patients were prolactinoma (48.4%), followed by nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma (26.8%), growth-hormone-releasing adenoma (acromegaly)(19.6%), and Cushing's disease (5.2%). The consequences of this study disclosed a significant difference between the patients in different domains of the quality of life, including Global health status, Functional scales and in Symptom scales; in this respect, patients with Cushing’s disease had the worst condition. Overall, the comparison showed that the quality of life in patients with Cushing's disease was significantly lower than that among patients with other types of pituitary adenoma. Regarding the association between personal factors in PA and the quality of life, inter-sectoral approach to health problems and interventions that affect the quality of life are important.