Clinical Profile of Patients with Hypopituitarism in a Tertiary Care Centre in Central India.

Introduction: Hypopituitarism is a serious endocrine illness with life-threatening implications. There is a lack of reliable Indian epidemiological data, with very few studies on hypopituitarism across the country. Our research aimed to study the clinical profile of hypopituitarism in a tertiary care centre in Central India.

Methods: This was an ambispective study conducted at a tertiary care centre in Central India in General Medicine and Endocrinology OPDs and wards, including patients ≥18 years of age diagnosed with hypopituitarism between 01/07/19 and 30/06/23. The clinical, laboratory, and imaging data at the time of diagnosis was considered, and hormone deficiencies were defined as per the standard recommendations.

Results: The study included 54 patients diagnosed with hypopituitarism with a mean age of 37.6 ± 15.37 years at diagnosis (range: 18-75 years). It included 52% ( = 28) males and 48% ( = 26) females. Headache (50%, = 27) was the most common initial presentation, followed by visual disturbance (40.7%, = 22). Pituitary adenoma (42.6%, = 23) constituted the most common aetiology of hypopituitarism in our study, followed by extrapituitary tumours (33.3%, = 18). Sheehan's syndrome (14.8%, = 8) was the third most common aetiology. Adrenocorticotropic hormone deficiency (90.5%, = 48) was the most common abnormality noted, followed by thyroid-stimulating hormone (87%, = 47) and growth hormone (GH) deficiency (70.6%, = 12 [assessed in 17 patients]). Panhypopituitarism was seen in 59.2% ( = 32) of patients.

Conclusion: Hypopituitarism has diverse aetiologies and presentations. Pituitary and other sellar/suprasellar tumours constituted the most common cause of hypopituitarism in our study, while headache was the most common presentation.