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Quality of life of adults with growth hormone deficiency: a controlled study. Acta Paediatr Scand [Suppl] 356: 55, 1989.The quality of life of 23 adults with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) who had received growth hormone (GH) therapy was compared with that of 47 normal individuals in a control group. The GHD group had a poorer quality of life than the control group. Statistically significant differences were found between the groups for social isolation, physical mobility, sleep, and emotional status. More individuals in the control group had a driving licence and were married than in the GHD group. Key words: Quality of life, growth hormone deficiency, adult growth hormone deficiency, psychosocial status.For the past two decades it has been possible for individuals with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) to be treated with injections of growth hormone (GH). Initially, treatment was limited by the restricted supplies of GH. More recently, however, recombinant DNA technology has enabled GH to be produced in sufficient quantities.It has been assumed by many clinicians that the increase in height achieved by GH treatment improves the psychosocial development during childhood. Some studies have reported normal psychological development (1, 2), but other studies have failed to indicate this (3-6). Most of the studies have been conducted during or immediately after completion of GH therapy and little information is available concerning the long-term impact of GH treatment (7). Two recent studies, however, have investigated the long-term impact on adults with GHD (3, 7).The achievements of patients with GHD seem to be normal in the educational sphere but the rate of unemployment is three times higher than in the general population, and the proportion who are married is five times lower. Relatively few adults with GHD appear to be involved in leisure activities or have a driving licence (3). These differences may vary in subgroups of GHD patients (8). This indicates that GHD, like other chronic diseases, is closely related to the patients' quality of life (9).Assessment of the psychosocial development of adult GHD patients who have received GH therapy as children is important, in order to establish the possible differences between these patients and the normal population. Quality of life questionnaires are used which concentrate on personality traits such as initiative, motivation and persistence. These characteristics are closely related to an individual's achievements, such as whether he or she has a job, a driving licence, or gets married (10). The aim of this study was to assess any differences in the quality of life according to psychosocial development in particular, between adult GHD patients who had received GH therapy as children and the general population. PATIENTS AND METHODSPatients. Thirty-six adults with GHD were selected for the study (24 men, 12 women); twenty-three patients agreed to participate. Five of the GHD patients had isolated GH deficiency (IGHD) and 18 had idiopathic multiple pituitary hormone def...

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All inhabitants of the city of Göteborg who in 1982 were between 60 and 64 years of age (27,700) were randomly divided into a test and a control group. The 13,759 subjects in the test group were invited to perform Hemoccult II (Smith Kline Diagnostic, Sunnyvale, CA) fecal occult blood testing over 3 days and to repeat the testing after 16 to 22 months. At the first screening 9,040 (66%) completed the test, and 7,770 (58%) completed the test at the second screening. In the first screening the test group was divided into two subgroups in which the tests were rehydrated and unhydrated before development. All tests were rehydrated in the second screening; 1.9% and 5.8% of the tests were positive in the unhydrated and rehydrated subgroups, respectively. The number of diagnosed neoplasms in the first screening was significantly larger (P less than 0.01) in the rehydrated group compared to the unhydrated group, 50 and 24 neoplasms, respectively. Sixteen of 61 carcinomas in the test group were found in the interval between the two screenings, 19 of the carcinomas at the second screening, and ten among the nonresponders. Rehydration of the Hemoccult II test is a necessity. Significantly more carcinomas (61) were found in the test group compared to the control group (20). There was a trend toward favorable tumor staging in the test group compared to the control group.