Health and psychosocial status of patients with Turner syndrome after transition to adulthood: The Belgian experience
peer reviewed ; BACKGROUND: Most girls with Turner syndrome (TS) are intensively followed by paediatricians, but are lost to follow-up when they reach adulthood. To gain insight into the adult medical and psychosocial situation, we performed a survey in young adult TS patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A questionnaire concerning current health status, education, occupation and living situation was sent to 160 young adult TS women, all treated during childhood with GH and oestrogen if needed. RESULTS: We received 102 completed questionnaires. Mean +/- SD age at reception of the questionnaire was 2... Mehr ...
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Dokumenttyp: | journal article |
Erscheinungsdatum: | 2004 |
Verlag/Hrsg.: |
Karger
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Schlagwörter: | Turner syndrome / Human / Health status / Human health sciences / Endocrinology / metabolism & nutrition / Sciences de la santé humaine / Endocrinologie / métabolisme & nutrition |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Permalink: | https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27313993 |
Datenquelle: | BASE; Originalkatalog |
Powered By: | BASE |
Link(s) : | https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/260737 |
peer reviewed ; BACKGROUND: Most girls with Turner syndrome (TS) are intensively followed by paediatricians, but are lost to follow-up when they reach adulthood. To gain insight into the adult medical and psychosocial situation, we performed a survey in young adult TS patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A questionnaire concerning current health status, education, occupation and living situation was sent to 160 young adult TS women, all treated during childhood with GH and oestrogen if needed. RESULTS: We received 102 completed questionnaires. Mean +/- SD age at reception of the questionnaire was 23.4 +/- 3.3 years, height 153.3 +/- 5.2 cm, body mass index 23.7 +/- 4.9 kg/m(2). Age and auxological parameters were comparable between responders and non-responders. Thirteen (12.7%) responders were not under regular medical care; 15 (14.7%) were seen by a general practitioner, while 28 (27.4%) needed several specialists. Forty-one (40.2%) patients reported health problems. The most frequently reported problem was hypertension (10.7%), followed by hypothyroidism (5.8%) and back problems (4.9%). Twenty-four (23.5%) of the 41 patients were taking medication for the indicated health problems. Twenty-six (25.5%) women had undergone spontaneous puberty; 16 of them reported spontaneous menstruations while 10 received oestrogen replacement therapy. Of the 76 women with induced puberty, 11 (14.5%) were not taking any oestrogen anymore. Compared with the general population, more TS women attended university and more obtained higher education. Forty-six women (45.1%) were working full-time, 7 (6.9%) were unemployed, and 4 (3.9%) received an allocation. Seventy (68.6%) patients were still living with their parents, while 18 (17.6%) were living together or married, and 14 (13.7%) were living alone. CONCLUSIONS: The transition of adolescents with TS to adult medical care is not optimal in Belgium. Although 40.2% of these young women reported health problems, 12.7% did not consult any physician. Many TS women did not take oestrogen ...