Bone mineral density in acromegaly: the effect of gender, disease activity and gonadal status

Summary objective Data on bone mineral density (BMD) in acromegaly are conflicting as most previous studies collectively evaluated eugonadal and hypogonadal patients of both sexes, with or without active disease. We have evaluated BMD in 152 acromegalic patients of both sexes with varying disease activity and gonadal status. design Cross‐sectional, retrospective. patients We studied 152 acromegalic patients (99 women aged 26–72 years, and 53 men aged 21–75 years), 107 with active and 45 with controlled disease. Eighty‐five patients had normal gonadal status and 67 were hypogonadal. measurements In all patients we measured serum GH levels by immunoenzimometric assay, and serum IGF‐I levels by radioimmunoassay. BMD was assessed at spine L2–L4 (LS) and at femoral neck (FN) by dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry; results are expressed as Z‐values. results We evaluated the effect of GH excess on bone at different sites in relation to gonadal status, disease activity and gender. At LS, in respect to the reference population, BMD (mean ± SE) values were higher in eugonadal patients (active: 0·71 ± 0·29, P