Thyroid Hormons and Thyroid USG assesment of obese patients who applied to the department of family medicine obesity clinic of Düzce University

Obesity is one of the growing medical problems all over the world. Many chronic diseases which occur in parallel with the increase of obesity, such as HT, DM and METS, are significant source of mortality and morbidity. Many studies have dealt with different aspects of obesity; in our study, we tried to evaluate obesity in terms of the effect on thyroid function and morphology. In the study, we included 327 consecutive obese patients (mean age 41,0±11,6) who applied to the Department of Family Medicine Obesity and Check-up Policlinic of Düzce University School of Medicine and had an ultrasound scan between the months of January to July of 2012. Cases were classified as patients with obesity (n=130) , patients with DM Type 2 (n=27) and patients with METS (n=170), and their USG findings, as well as their heamatological, biochemical and hormonal parameters, were compared. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Statistical software (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA, version11.5). When BMI values were compared between the groups, the highest results were found in DM group, and these results were statistically significant. According to USG results of patients, 108 (%29,2) patients had nodules. There was no difference between the groups in terms of the frequency of the nodule. When thyroid volumes were compared between the groups, the largest volumes were found in the group with DM; however, these results were not statistically significant. When TSH levels were compared, the highest levels were in the group with obesity, however, these results were not statistically significant. We observed that obese women and women with METS had higher TSH levels. We determined that thyroid diseases were found less in the DM group than the other groups, and these results were statistically significant. Although no significant difference between the groups in our study was found in terms of thyroid pathology, in the light of other studies, the detection rate of thyroid dysfunction in diabetic patients and patients with METS is 2-3 times higher than the normal population. Therefore, the measurement of TSH should be made for all obese patients. Despite the high incidence of thyroid nodules which were detected incidentally by USG at Family Medicine Clinics, controlled studies with larger series are needed before we suggest a "routine thyroid ultrasound practice in obese patients". Keywords: Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome, İnsulin Resistance, Thyroid Nodules