A Study on Psychiatric Disorders, Body Image Disturbances, and Self-Esteem in Patients of Cushing’s Disease

BACKGROUND: Cushing's disease (CD) is a rare endocrine disorder associated with increased serum levels of cortisol secreted due to an underlying tumour in pituitary. Psychiatric disturbances like depression, psychosis, mania along with body image disturbances are seen in patients of CD. Hence, we undertook this research to find the prevalence and type of psychiatric disorders, body image disturbances, and self-esteem in patients of CD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-five patients diagnosed as CD as per the standard criteria by the endocrinologist were recruited after informed consent and ethics approval. Proforma with demographic details, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Body Image Concern Inventory were used for assessment of the aims. RESULTS: 65% patients had psychopathology with 21% patients having major depressive disorder, 62% patients had mild, and 28% had moderate depression on BDI. 50% patients had body image disturbances and 60% had low self-esteem. Depression was found to have a negative correlation with self-esteem and positive correlation with body image disturbances. CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of psychopathology is seen in patients of CD which may often go undetected. Liaison with the endocrinologist would also work towards improving the issues of body image disturbances and self-esteem for better prognosis for the patient.