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Hormonal and Rare Conditions Acromegaly Acromegaly
Acromegaly
About acromegaly

Acromegaly

Acromegaly is a rare disorder that occurs when your body produces too much growth hormone during adulthood.1

Acromegaly: from the Greek for extremities (acro) and great (megaly)

Growth hormone not only makes you grow taller, it also tells your muscles and organs to grow and affects how your body uses energy, such as fat, protein, and carbohydrates.2 

The balance of growth hormone in your body is controlled by levels of other hormones in your blood and fluctuates throughout the day.

Growth hormone” with arrows pointing towards two text boxes labelled “Bone growth” and “Muscle growth
Growth hormone is also influenced by stress, exercise, nutrition, and sleep. (Reference 2).

In acromegaly, because too much growth hormone is being produced, your bones begin to grow, including those in your hands, feet and face.3 These changes can take a long time to appear, and to start with, you might notice that your hands and feet are swollen or you’ve had to change your shoe or ring size.3 Tiredness and difficulty sleeping are also symptoms.3

It's important to remember that acromegaly can be treated, so it you think you may be experiencing symptoms, speak to your doctor

How many people have acromegaly?

Acromegaly is classified as a rare condition, which means it affects fewer than 1 person in every 2,000.4

Two text boxes. The first text box: “Prevalence - Worldwide, the number of people with acromegaly is thought to be between 28 and 133 patients for every 1 million people. (Reference 5)”. The second text box: “Incidence - Every year, between 2 and 11 patients for every 1 million people are diagnosed with acromegaly, that’s between 16,000-86,000 people around the world. (Reference 5)

References

  1. NHS England. Acromegaly. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/acromegaly/. Last accessed April 2025.
  2. Brinkman JE, Tariq MA, Leavitt L, Sharma S. Physiology, Growth Hormone. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; May 1, 2023.
  3. Mayo Clinic. Acromegaly. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/acromegaly/symptoms-causes/syc-20351222. Last accessed April 2025.
  4. Orphanet. About rare diseases. Available at: https://www.orpha.net/en/other-information/about-rare-diseases. Last accessed April 2025.
  5. Orphanet. Acromegaly. Available at: https://www.orpha.net/en/disease/detail/963?name=acromegaly&mode=name. Last accessed April 2025.