Abstract
BACKGROUND: Thyroid hormone is a key substance in normal homeostasis, having variable influence on cell metabolism on different organs. Very little is known about the prevalence of thyroid disorders from our region. AIM: This study was conducted with the aim of finding prevalence of thyroid disorder and relation of thyroid hormone with renal function and cholesterol metabolism. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 96 ambulatory patients were taken for study. Serum samples were collected and evaluated for triiodothyronine, thyroxine, thyroid-stimulating hormone, urea, creatinine, total cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein and high density lipoprotein (HDL). Analysis of variance and t-test were used to find a significant difference among the groups. RESULTS: Prevalance of thyroid disorder among suspected patients was 64/96 (66%), of which 36/64 (56.3%) were hypothyroid and 28/64 (43.8%) were hyperthyroid. No relation was found with renal function, but cholesterol was found high (>250 mg/dl) among hypothyroid patients and significant increase in TG, LDL levels and significant decrease was in HDL. CONCLUSION: Thyroid disorder is high among subjects with hypercholesterolemia. This underscores the need to evaluate for thyroid disorder in hypercholesterolemic patients and vice-versa.