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Primary study objectives:
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• Prevalence and magnitude of LV hypertrophy (transthoracic echocardiography)
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• Description of LV deformation characteristics (transthoracic echocardiography)
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• Quantification of LV, total heart mass, and ventricular volumes (cardiac MRI)
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• Assessment of systolic function and myocardial structural fibrosis (cardiac MRI)
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Secondary study objectives:
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• Cardiac morphology and function (using transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac MRI)
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• Endothelial function (using Endo-PAT2000)
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• Blood pressure (using resting and 24-h blood pressure measurement)
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• Heart rate variability profile (using resting and 24-h electrocardiogram)
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• Clinical features (waist-to-hip ratio, body mass index, bio-impedance analysis)
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• Muscle strength (chair rising test, hand grip strength)
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• Biochemistry (including hormonal, metabolic, cardiac and routine parameters)
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• Evaluation of QoL and psychosocial status (using six questionnaires):
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- Disease-specific QoL (CushingQoL, Tuebingen CD-25)
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- Generic QoL (SF-36)
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- Generic health status (EQ-5D-3L)
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- Anxiety (GAD-7)
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- Depressive and panic disorders (brief PHQ-D)
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• Comparison between patients with CS and controls without CS (i.e. from STAAB and SHIP-Trend)
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• Comparison between patients with overt CS and patients with CS in remission
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