THE EFFECT OF HYPOTHYROIDISM ON GLUCOSE TOLERANCE AND INSULIN METABOLISM

Abstract

Although the clinical association of hypothyroidism and diabetes mellitus is well known (Phair, Bondy & Abelson, 1965; Hecht & Gershberg, 1968) there have been few studies of glucose and insulin metabolism in hypothyroidism before and after treatment; this paper reports our findings in ten such subjects. Ten patients (9 female, 1 male; aged 43–73 yr.) with obvious clinical hypothyroidism, due to primary thyroid failure confirmed by a combination of serum protein-bound iodine, radioactive iodine studies with thyroid-stimulating hormone stimulation (as appropriate) and thyroid antibody studies, were investigated. None were known to be diabetic. An oral glucose tolerance test (50 g.) before and after treatment was performed, venous blood being removed for determination of blood sugar and plasma insulin levels at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min. The sugar was measured as total reducing substances in a Technicon auto-analyser and plasma insulin by the double antibody radioimmunoassay method of Hales