Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Apr;94(4):625-635.
doi: 10.1111/cen.14392. Epub 2020 Dec 26.

Sex differences in acromegaly at diagnosis: A nationwide cohort study and meta-analysis of the literature

Jakob Dal  1   2 , Benedikte G Skov  3 , Marianne Andersen  4 , Ulla Feldt-Rasmussen  5 , Claus L Feltoft  6 , Jesper Karmisholt  1   7 , Eigil H Nielsen  1 , Olaf M Dekkers  8 , Jens Otto L Jørgensen  3
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Sex differences in acromegaly at diagnosis: A nationwide cohort study and meta-analysis of the literature

Jakob Dal et al. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: Data on sex differences in acromegaly at the time of diagnosis vary considerably between studies.

Design: A nationwide cohort study including all incident cases of acromegaly (1978-2010, n = 596) and a meta-analysis on sex differences in active acromegaly (40 studies) were performed.

Method: Sex-dependent differences in prevalence, age at diagnosis, diagnostic delay, pituitary adenoma size, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) and growth hormone (GH) concentrations were estimated.

Results: The cohort study identified a balanced gender distribution (49.6% females) and a comparable age (years) at diagnosis (48.2 CI95% 46.5-49.8 (males) vs. 47.2 CI95% 45.5-48.9 (females), p = 0.4). The incidence rate significantly increased during the study period (R2 = 0.42, p < 0.01) and the gender ratio (F/M) changed from female predominance to an even ratio (SR: 1.4 vs. 0.9, p = 0.03). IGF-ISDS was significantly lower in females compared to males, whereas neither nadir GH nor pituitary adenoma size differed between males and females. In the meta-analysis, the weighted percentage female was 53.3% (CI95% 51.5-55.2) with considerable heterogeneity (I2 = 85%) among the studies. The mean age difference at diagnosis between genders was 3.1 years (CI95% 1.9-4.4), and the diagnostic delay was longer in females by 0.9 years (CI95% -0.4 to 2.1). Serum IGF-I levels were significantly lower in female patients, whereas nadir GH, and pituitary adenoma size were comparable.

Conclusion: There are only a minor sex differences in the epidemiology of acromegaly at the time of diagnosis except that female patients are slightly older and exhibit lower IGF-I concentrations and a longer diagnostic delay.

Keywords: GH; IGF-I; acromegaly; age; diagnostic delay; gender; sex.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Dal J, Feldt-Rasmussen U, Andersen M, et al. Acromegaly incidence, prevalence, complications and long-term prognosis: a nationwide cohort study. Eur J Endocrinol. 2016;175:181-190. https://doi.org/10.1530/EJE-16-0117
    1. Gruppetta M, Mercieca C, Vassallo J. Prevalence and incidence of pituitary adenomas: a population based study in Malta. Pituitary. 2013;16:545-553. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11102-012-0454-0
    1. Hoskuldsdottir GT, Fjalldal SB, Sigurjonsdottir HA. The incidence and prevalence of acromegaly, a nationwide study from 1955 through 2013. Pituitary. 2015;18:803-807. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11102-015-0655-4
    1. Kwon O, Song YD, Kim SY, et al. Nationwide survey of acromegaly in South Korea. Clin Endocrinol. 2013;78:577-585. https://doi.org/10.1111/cen.12020
    1. Kauppinen-ma R, Niskanen L, Markkanen H, et al. A nationwide survey of mortality in acromegaly. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005;90:4081-4086. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2004-1381

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources