Basic Summary for Cushing's syndrome

Main name of condition: Cushing's syndrome
Other names or spellings: hypercortisolism

What is Cushing's syndrome?
  Brief description of Cushing's syndrome: Rare hormone disorder often caused by adrenal or pituitary tumors.
  Parent types of Cushing's syndrome: Systemic disorders, Pituitary conditions
  Organs Affected by Cushing's syndrome: adrenal glands, pituitary
  Types of Cushing's syndrome: Cushing's disease, Ectopic ACTH Syndrome, Familial Cushing's Syndrome

How many people get Cushing's syndrome?
  Prevalance of Cushing's syndrome: 2-5 per million (NIDCD); 10 per million; 10-15 per million
  Prevalance Rate of Cushing's syndrome: approx 1 in 500,000 or 0.00% or 543 people in USA [about data]
  Incidence (annual) of Cushing's syndrome: estimated 10 to 15 per million people develop Cushing’s syndrome each year in the US (NIDDK, NIH, 2002)
  Incidence Rate of Cushing's syndrome: approx 1 in 100,000 or 0.00% or 2,720 people in USA [about data]
  Prevalance of Cushing's syndrome: it is relatively rare and most commonly affects adults aged 20 to 50. An estimated 10 to 15 of every million people are affected each year. ¹

Who gets Cushing's syndrome?
Patient Profile for Cushing's syndrome: Mainly adults 20-50, though any age possible. 10% of cases are in children and adolescents.

How serious is Cushing's syndrome?
  Prognosis of Cushing's syndrome: Many cases can be cured. Results depend on the underlying cause and severity of the problem.
  Prognosis of Cushing's syndrome: The prognosis for individuals with Cushing's syndrome varies depending on the cause of overproduction of cortisol. With treatment, most individuals with Cushing's syndrome show significant improvement, while improvement for others may be complicated by various aspects of the causative illness. Some kinds of tumors may recur. Most cases of Cushing's can be cured. ²
  Complications of Cushing's syndrome: see complications of Cushing's syndrome

What causes Cushing's syndrome?
Causes of Cushing's syndrome: Cushing's syndrome occurs when the body's tissues are exposed to excessive levels of cortisol for long periods of time. ¹ ... It may be caused by either prolonged exposure of the body's tissues to high levels of the hormone cortisol or by the overproduction of cortisol in the body. ²
Causes of Cushing's syndrome: see causes of Cushing's syndrome

What are the symptoms of Cushing's syndrome?
Symptoms of Cushing's syndrome: see symptoms of Cushing's syndrome

How is it treated?
Treatments for Cushing's syndrome: see treatments for Cushing's syndrome
Research for Cushing's syndrome: see research for Cushing's syndrome

Society issues for Cushing's syndrome
Hospitalization statistics for Cushing's syndrome: The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Cushing's syndrome:

0.008% (1,067) of hospital consultant episodes were for cushing’s syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
94% of hospital consultant episodes for cushing’s syndrome required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
24% of hospital consultant episodes for cushing’s syndrome were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
66% of hospital consultant episodes for cushing’s syndrome were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
9% of hospital consultant episodes for cushing’s syndrome required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
7.4 days was the mean length of stay in hospitals for cushing’s syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
4 days was the median length of stay in hospitals for cushing’s syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
45 was the mean age of patients hospitalised for cushing’s syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
75% of hospital consultant episodes for cushing’s syndrome occurred in 15-59 year olds in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
3% of hospital consultant episodes for cushing’s syndrome occurred in people over 75 in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
44% of hospital consultant episodes for cushing’s syndrome were single day episodes in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
0.007% (3,658) of hospital bed days were for cushing’s syndrome in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)

Footnotes:
1. excerpt from Cushing's Syndrome: NIDDK
2. excerpt from NINDS Cushing's Syndrome Information Page: NINDS

Last revision: May 26, 2003

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