Frequency of Hypothyroidism in Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Abstract

Introduction: There is evidence to support the long-standing association between thyroid problems and diabetes mellitus. Thyroid problems are more common in women and people with diabetes than in people without the disease, and they have been shown to occur more frequently as people age. Study type: Descriptive, cross sectional study. Study place: Department of Medicine, Shahida Islam Teaching Hospital, Lodhran. Study duration: 23rd December 2024 to 22nd April 2025. Materials and Methods: Total 215 patients with diabetes mellitus between the ages of 20 and 70 years of either gender were included. Patients with a history of thyroid gland surgery, those taking dopamine antagonists, antiepileptics, oral contraceptives, lithium, or glucocorticoids, and those with chronic liver disease (s/bilirubin >1.0 mg/dl) or renal failure (s/creatinine >1.5 mg/dl) were not included. The institutional pathology laboratory next analyzed the blood sample for thyroid function assays and found hypothyroidism (TSH >5.2 mIU/L, FT3 <1.5 pg/ml, and FT4 <0.8 pg/ml). Results: Mean age was 53.13 ± 2.26 years. The male to female ratio of the 215 patients was 1.2:1, with 113 (52.56%) being men and 102 (47.34%) being women. DM lasted 10.36 ± 3.49 years on average. The mean body mass index was 30.35 ± 2.48 kg/m2. The mean FT3 (pg/ml) and FT4 (pg/ml) values were 2.35 ± 1.87 and 1.38 ± 0.76, respectively, whereas the mean TSH (mIU/L) was 4.36 ± 1.42. This study shows that 51 (23.72%) of the patients with diabetes mellitus had hypothyroidism. Conclusion: According to the study's findings, patients with diabetes mellitus had a relatively high incidence of hypothyroidism.