Pseudo-Endocrine Disorders: Definitions, Examples, and Considerations

Abstract

“Pseudo-endocrine” is a term that can be applied to many different types of conditions and situations. Affected patients may believe they have an endocrine or metabolic disorder, despite previous normal testing, because of misleading information they have gotten from another health care provider, a personal trainer, a friend, a book, or the Internet; they may even have been given a diagnosis of a disorder that has not been scientifically proven to exist. Others may have true endocrine disorders but continue to have symptoms despite adequate treatment and normal on-treatment test results. They may have been treated with excessive hormone doses or with unproven and even dangerous treatments. They may also have conditions that were incorrectly diagnosed because of assay interference or other laboratory testing issues. This chapter defines “pseudo-endocrine” disorders and gives several examples that will be developed and more fully discussed in subsequent chapters.