The establishment of national neonatal screening systems has resulted in improved quality of life and life expectancy in patients with
phenylketonuria (PKU). This has led to the development of multidisciplinary treatment units for adult patients with PKU. We present a retrospective descriptive study of a cohort of 90 adult patients (>16 years) with PKU under active follow-up in two reference centers in Andalusia. We analyzed disease severity, treatment type, demographic variables, cardiovascular risk factors,
vitamin and
hormone profiles, and bone metabolism. The median (interquartile range)age was 29 (23−38) years, 47 (52.2%) were women and 43 (47.8%) were men. Eighty (88.9%) had classical PKU, five (5.6%) moderate PKU, and five (5.6%) mild PKU. Diagnosis was by neonatal screening in 62 (68.9%) of the patients. The rest had late diagnosis. Treatment with
sapropterin was given to 18 (20%) patients and diet and
nutrition therapy to 72 (80%). There was adequate metabolic control according to Phe levels in 43 (47.78%) patients. Body mass index was 26.61 (22.7−31.1) kg/m2. Twenty-six (29.2%) patients had
obesity, 7 (7.9%)
hypertension, 2 (2.2%)
type 2 diabetes, 26 (28.89%)
dyslipidemia, 14 (15.6%) elevated total
cholesterol, 9 (15.8%) decreased
high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and 16 (17.8%)
hypertriglyceridemia. Seven (10.3%) patients had
osteoporosis and 28 (41.17%)
osteopenia. Twenty-six (30.6%) had
vitamin D (25OH) deficiency and four (4.5%)
vitamin B12 deficiency. Although we observed no differences with most vascular risk factors, we found a high prevalence of
obesity in relation to the age of the cohort. A continued evaluation of comorbidities in these patients is therefore needed, despite adequate metabolic control.