Assessment of Cognitive Function, Mood, and Quality of Life in Hypopituitary Patients After Pituitary Adenomectomy With or Without Radiotherapy

Background: Pituitary diseases are often associated with changes in quality of life. Hypopituitarism and radiotherapy may negatively affect quality of life, causing depression and anxiety and resulting in cognitive disorders.
Objectives: To comparatively evaluate cognitive function and quality of life in patients with pituitary adenomas who developed hypopituitarism after surgery, with or without radiotherapy.
Patients and Methods: Out of a total of 36 patients enrolled in the study, 25 (70%) received conformal radiotherapy as an adjuvant treatment. The mean age was 47 ± 13 years in the radiotherapy group and 48 ± 12 years in the non-radiotherapy group. All the patients had hypopituitarism and had undergone hormone replacement therapy, with the exception of the growth hormone, for the entire axes. Tests to assess cognitive function, anxiety, depression, and quality of life were performed on an outpatient basis.
Results: There were no differences between the groups, with respect to gender, educational level, and presence of deficit in the adrenal, gonadal, somatotropic, or thyroid axis. Mean time since surgery and that since radiotherapy was 10 ± 5 years and 10 ± 6 years, respectively. All the patients had some degree of anxiety and depression on the basis of their Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventory scores. There was a trend toward greater depression severity in the group undergoing radiotherapy (p = 0.058). With respect to the health-related quality of life, a significant difference was detected in social relationships, with lower scores observed in the radiotherapy group.
Conclusions: Irradiated hypopituitary patients showed impairment in the social relationship aspect of their quality of life and greater depression severity.

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