Clinical and etiological profile of hyperprolactinemia--data from a tertiary care centre.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical presentation and etiology of hyperprolactinemia, a common disorder encountered in endocrine practice. METHODS: We analyzed the clinical data, hormone profile and imaging reports of 187 females with documented hyperprolactinemia, over a period of 6 years (5 years retrospective analysis and one year prospective study). RESULTS: Majority of the 187 subjects studied presented in 3rd or 4th decade. Galactorrhoea was the commonest presenting symptom occurring in 159 subjects (85%), followed by amenorrhea in 68.9%; both amenorrhea and galactorrhea were seen in 45.4%. A microprolactinoma was demonstrated in 67 patients (35.8%), a nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenoma with stalk hyperprolactinemia occurred in 30 patients (16%) and polycystic ovarian disease was documented in 24 (12.8%). In 52 patients (27.8%) no apparent cause could be ascertained. CONCLUSIONS: Syndrome of amenorrhea and/or galactorrhea is the commonest presentation in hyperprolactinemia. Microprolactinoma was the most frequent identifiable etiology followed by idiopathic and stalk hyperprolactinemia in our series.