Psychosocial effects and clinic reflections of the COVID-19 outbreak in patients with acromegaly and Cushing's disease
PITUITARY, vol.24, no.4, pp.589-599, 2021 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 24 Issue: 4
- Publication Date: 2021
- Doi Number: 10.1007/s11102-021-01136-5
- Journal Name: PITUITARY
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, EMBASE, MEDLINE
- Page Numbers: pp.589-599
- Keywords: COVID-19, Acromegaly, Cushing's disease, Anxiety, Post-traumatic stress disorders, GENERAL-POPULATION, ANXIETY, IMPACT, PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, PERSONALITY, DEPRESSION, PREVALENCE, TRAITS, STRESS, HEALTH
- Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
- Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Purpose Patients with acromegaly and Cushing's disease (CD) may experience significant problems related to the COVID-19 outbreak. We aimed to investigate the psychosocial effects of the pandemic and reveal the follow-up characteristics. Methods The single center, cross-sectional, web-based survey study included patients with acromegaly and CD, PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients and healthy volunteers without known any chronic disease. The semi-structured sociodemographic data form, The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) were used. Results We examined 583 people (217 acromegaly, 127 CD, 102 PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients and 137 healthy controls). The frequency of abnormal state anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were similar in patients with acromegaly and CD and healthy controls, and higher in PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients than in these three groups (p < 0.001 for both). The frequency of abnormal trait anxiety was higher in patients with acromegaly and PCR-confirmed COVID-19 compared to patients with CD and healthy controls (p = 0.027, p < 0.001, respectively). There were no significant differences between the acromegaly and CD groups in terms of follow-up characteristics and perception of the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak (p > 0.05 for all). But, the treatment discontinuation rate was higher in patients with acromegaly than CD (p = 0.012). Conclusions Our findings indicate that acromegaly and CD patients are psychologically less affected than PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients and exhibit similar findings the general population. The clinicians should consider the psychosocial effects, as well as focus on the regular follow-up and medical treatments of these patients during the outbreak.