Screening for Thyroid Dysfunction in the Diabetic/Non-Diabetic Population

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of diabetes mellitus on thyroid hormone levels and other biochemical variables. The study population consisted of 200 subjects divided into two groups: diabetic (n=100) and non-diabetic (n=100). In order to clarify the mechanism of impaired thyroid hormone levels in patients with diabetes, blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C), lipids, proteins, 43 urea, microalbuminurea, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), total thyroxine (T ), total triiodothyronine (T ), 43 free thyroxine (FT ), and free triiodothyronine (FT ) were examined. A significant increase in the levels of blood glucose, HbA1C, serum cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL-C), urea, creatinine, and microalbuminurea was observed in diabetic patients compared to non-diabetic subjects. On the other hand, the levels of total protein, albumin, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) were significantly decreased in diabetics. The level of TSH was significantly decreased whereas 44 the levels of T and FT were significantly increased in diabetic patients compared to control subjects. How- 33 ever, the T and FT levels did not differ significantly between groups. Out of 100 diabetic patients studied, 28% had low plasma thyroid hormone levels, 17% had high thyroid hormone, and 55% had euthyroid levels. This study has shown a high incidence of abnormal thyroid hormone levels among the diabetics. In con- clusion, our findings demonstrate that detection of abnormal thyroid hormone levels in the early stage of diabetes mellitus will help the patients to improve quality of life and reduce the morbidity rate.