DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2016.v04i12.027

Pages: 4318-4320

Diabetes mellitus and thyroid dysfunction are the two most common endocrine disorders in clinical practice. Untreated thyroid disorder can adversely affect glucose and lipid metabolism and predisposes patient to atherosclerotic diseases like coronary artery disease and stroke. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of thyroid disorder in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This is an observational cross-sectional study. Three hundred patients with T2DM that regularly attended the medicine department of a tertiary care centre participated in the study. Laboratory tests like thyroid profile, blood sugar and HbA1c done in all patients. Thyroid dysfunction was classified as clinical hypothyroidism if TSH > 5.50 μUI/mL and FT4 < 0.93 ng/dL; subclinical hypothyroidism if TSH > 5.50 μUI/ml and FT4 ranged from 0.93 to 1.7 ng/dL; subclinical hyperthyroidism if TSH < 0.27 μUI/ml and FT4 in the normal range (0.93 and 1.7 ng/dL) and clinical hyperthyroidism if TSH < 0.27 μUI/ml and FT4 > 1.7 μUI/mL. The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in all diabetic patients was 13.7%. The most frequently thyroid disorder was subclinical hypothyroidism, in 12% of patients with T2DM. Clinical hypothyroidism was identified in 0.9 % of cases, subclinical hyperthyroidism in 0.7 % cases and clinical hyperthyroidism in 0.1% cases. We conclude that screening for thyroid dysfunction among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus should be routinely performed considering the high prevalence of new cases. Timely diagnosis can prevent early onset atherosclerotic disease like coronary artery disease, stroke and hypertension arising from an undiagnosed thyroid disorder.