Thyroid Profile in Diabetic Patients in a Tertiary Care Centre at Alappuzha, Kerala, India

Abstract

BACKGROUND Diabetes mellitus is the most common endocrine metabolic disease. Thyroid disorders are the second most common endocrine disorders, there is a high chance for an individual to have both diseases. Drugs for diabetes modify thyroid gland function, so these drug interactions have to be taken into account for treatment of diabetics with thyroid disorder. We wanted to study the profile of thyroid gland dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS A cross sectional observational study was conducted among 230 subjects attending our tertiary care centre, meeting case definition of type 2 diabetes mellitus, over a period of 18 months. A detailed history was taken, and examination was done, followed by baseline investigations, blood sugar and thyroid function tests. Data was collected in proforma, entered in Microsoft Excel and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). RESULTS In the present study, 18.3 % (42) patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus had abnormal thyroid profile. The most common abnormality was subclinical hypothyroidism (66 %). 57.2 % were females and 42.8 %, males. Majority belonged to 41 - 60 yrs. age group (56.5 %). 57 % patients had family history of diabetes mellitus. 75 % were overweight and obese. The prevalence of hypertension (50.9 %) and hypercholesterolemia (31.8 %) was high. CONCLUSIONS Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction was found to be more among type 2 diabetics than in general population, and that too, in females. There was no significant correlation between age, type of treatment, family history, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. KEYWORDS DM, Thyroid Gland Disorder