[Inactive Graves' ophthalmopathy and self-esteem].

Purpose: To assess the self-esteem of Graves' ophthalmopathy patients in the inactive phase.

Methods: Thirty euthyroid patients were evaluated in the inactive phase of disease with age ranging from 26 to 65 years, average of 43 +/- 11,0 years, called study group and 39 individuals without Graves' ophthalmopathy with age ranging from 18 to 67 years, average of 41 +/- 13,4 years, selected from the general population called control group. To evaluate the self-esteem the Rosenberg UNIFESP/EPM self-esteem scale, applied by means of an interview, was utilized. The self-esteem scores in the two studied groups were compared by means of the non-parametric Mann-Whitey test. The same test was applied to compare the obtained scores in the Graves' ophthalmopathy group considering disease severity.

Results: No alteration with statistical significance in Graves' ophthalmopathy patients' self-esteem was observed (P=0.057). The study group presented, on average, lower self-esteem values when compared with the control group. There was no difference of self-esteem mild and moderate-severe patients (P=0.2710).

Conclusion: Graves' ophthalmopathy in the inactive phase did not affect the patients' self-esteem in the group studied.