Thyroid Disorders in Saudi Patients With Acromegaly: A Tertiary Care Center Experience

TL;DR

This study examines thyroid disorders in Saudi patients with acromegaly, finding a high prevalence of goiter and thyroid dysfunction.

Contribution

The study provides a detailed analysis of thyroid disorders in Saudi acromegaly patients, highlighting their clinical features and lack of correlation with disease activity.

Findings

70% of acromegaly patients had goiter, predominantly multinodular.

40% of patients had primary hypothyroidism.

No thyroid cancer cases were identified despite high nodular goiter prevalence.

Abstract

Background

Acromegaly is a rare disease that is frequently associated with thyroid diseases. The exact prevalence of goiter and thyroid dysfunction remains uncertain.

Objectives

This study aims to provide a comprehensive description of the clinical, morphological, and biochemical features of thyroid disorder in Saudi patients with acromegaly and to establish its correlation with the activity and duration of the disease.

Methods

This retrospective study involved patients who were diagnosed with acromegaly during the period 2006-2023 in an outpatient endocrine clinic at a tertiary hospital.

Results

A total of 40 patients with acromegaly (27 males and 13 females) were identified and included in the analysis, with a mean age of 46.78 ± 13.76 years and an estimated duration of disease of 8.08 ± 6.43 years. Goiter was diagnosed in 28 patients (70.0%), including multinodular goiter (MNG) (70.0%), solitary thyroid nodules (14.2%), and thyroid cysts (14.2%). Primary hypothyroidism was present at 40.0%. Goiter was not correlated with estimated insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels or disease duration. In 40 patients with nodular goiter, fine needle biopsies were performed in six cases; five nodules were benign, and one nodule was a follicular lesion of unknown significance (Bethesda III).

Conclusions

The patients with acromegaly have a high prevalence of nodular thyroid disorders and thyroid dysfunction. No cases of thyroid cancer were found in our study. The periodic ultrasonography assessment of the thyroid is needed for evaluating patients with acromegaly.