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Abstract:
IntroductionPatients with craniopharyngioma (CP) often suffer from
obesity, but the underlying causes are still not fully understood. We
compared CP to patients with nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA) and
to a control group (CG) using standardized questionnaires to investigate
whether behavioural, mood or personality traits contribute to obesity.
MethodsWe compared 31 patients with CP (42% male, 53151years) to 26
patients with NFPA (71% male, 632103years) and to age- and
gender-matched local CG (ratio 2:1). Normative data from the literature
are included for reference. Patients were asked to complete eleven
standardized questionnaires. Two questionnaires were used to evaluate
eating disorders (FEV, EDE-Q), one depression (BDI), one anxiety (STAI),
three health-related quality of life (SF-36, EuroQoL, QoL-AGHDA), one
sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), two personality (EPQ-RK, TPQ) and
one body image (FKB-20).
ResultsPatients with CP scored significantly higher in conscious hunger
perception (FEV, CP 58 +/- 32 scores, NFPA 36 +/- 33 scores, CG 30 +/-
25, P<0001). They had similar scores for BDI compared with NFPA, but
higher scores to CG (P<0001, CP 106 +/- 83, NFPA 75 +/- 57, CG 496 +/-
42). CP and NFPA scored higher than CG for anxiety and personality
traits such as harm avoidance, fatigability and asthenia and slightly
higher for neuroticism. No differences were seen for EDE-Q, quality of
life, daytime sleepiness and body image between CP and NFPA. However,
differences could be observed to normative data from the literature.
ConclusionObesity in patients with CP might be influenced by eating
disorders, negative mood alterations and increased anxiety-related
personality traits.
