BispebjergHospital_1913-38

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Summary. Amongst the patients admitted to the medical department B, Bispebjerg Hospital, during one year, 3005 in all, obesity was a frequent affection, about 10 per cent of the patients weighing more than 10 per cent above normal. Before their admission, about 2/s of these patients had been treated with thyroid, in spite of the fact that only a very small number presented signs of hypothyroidism. Only 2 per cent of the treated patients were of opinion that the treatment had been of effect. 25 per cent of the other patients had not noticed any effect at all, and the remaining 75 per cent had experienced various kinds of discom­ fort, some of them even severe thyrotoxic symptoms. It has been demonstrated that only seldom does the weight in­ crease in connection with the climacteric. The instance of increased weight is not more frequent than what may be explained as due to changes in daily routine at this period of life, the hormonal changes at this period not necessarily being the cause of the obesity. Determinations of the excretion of gonadotrope hormone in pa­ tients with obesity have not demonstrated changes indicating re­ duced function of the endocrine sexual glands; thus there does not seem to be any rational basis for treating obesity with sexual hor­ mones. The conclusion from the above results must be, that treatment of obesity with hormones in most cases lacks a rational foundation, most often it is without effect, and in many cases it directly causes trouble.