Key Words Pituitary insufficiency Quality of life Cognitive function Growth hormone Sex steroids

This review is concerned with the psychosocial functioning and the quality of life in patients with pituitary insufficiency who are receiving conventional hormone replacement therapy. The possible negative effects of pituitary sur-gery, treatment with irradiation, and suboptimal replacement regimens with hormones other than growth hormone on mood, behaviour and cognitive functioning are discussed. The influence of growth hormone deficiency per se, and the outcome of growth hormone therapy in adult patients are addressed in detail. A possible mechanism for a direct effect of growth hormone on the brain is presented. Introduction of these were found to be living as singles compared with short normal controls, and on average they had less prestigious jobs and a lower income [4].Experienced clinicians have long had the impression that patients with pituitary insufficiency have a dimin- Although it seems clear that, as a group, patients with pituitary insufficiency of childhood onset are socially disad-ished overall capacity even when they are receiving ade