Preliminary report on hyperprolactinaemia in Trinidadian women: prevalence, clinical and endocrine features - abstract

ABSTRACT

Since the development of a reliable method of assay for prolactin, it has become widely accepted that disorders of prolactin secretion constitute the most common disorder of hypothalamic/pituitary function. Ninety female patients with serm prolactin concentrations above 40ng/ml (normal 0 - 14 ng/ml) over a one-year period were reviewed. The mean age of presentation was 31 years (range 16 -54). Of the 90 patients, 60 percent were Negro, 36 percent East Indian and 4 percent mixed. The commonest presenting complaints were (86 percent), galactorrhoea (68 percent) and hirsutism (57 percent). Fourteen patients had radiological evidence of tumour; all these had prolactin levels greater than 100ng/ml (range 121 - 895ng/ml) and 60 percent had LH/FSH ratios of less than 1.00. Over the last three years, requests for prolactin assays have increased markedly. During the period June 1984 to July 1985, 1,030 assays were done of which 20 percent were above 40ng/ml. This trend reflects an increased awareness of the importance of this condition (AU)