Frequency of metabolic syndrome in female patients with hashimoto thyroiditis

Introduction and Aim: Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the most common autoimmune thyroid disease. In this disease, in which thyroid-specific autoantibodies play a role in the pathogenesis, parenchymal damage and fibrosis develop in the thyroid gland. Metabolic syndrome is a metabolic disorder accompanied by different glucose metabolism disorders from insulin resistance to overt diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia and hypertension. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the frequency of metabolic syndrome in female patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Materials and Methods: A total of 134 individuals, including 94 female patients with newly diagnosed Hashimoto's thyroiditis and 40 randomly selected female control group without known chronic disease, were examined in the Internal Diseases Polyclinics of the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Faculty of Medicine, Rize Training and Research Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine. Individuals in the patient group have no history of concomitant chronic disease and no pregnancy status. 94 people in the patient group were divided into three groups according to their serum TSH levels as euthyroid, subclinical hypothyroidism and overt hypothyroidism. Patients with a TSH level of ≤ 4.5 xviii mU/L were in the euthyroid group, patients with a TSH level between 4.5 and 10 mU/L were in the subclinical hypothyroidism group, and patients with a TSH level of ≥10 mU/L were in the overt hypothyroid group. Our research is a cross-sectional study. Demographic data, examination findings and laboratory parameters of the patients and control group were evaluated. For the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, the diagnostic criteria of NCEP-ATP III (The US National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III) were taken as reference. The frequency of metabolic syndrome in the patient subgroups and the control group was investigated and a comparison was made between the groups. Results: The mean age of the entire patient group in our study was found to be 34.03±7.68 years. This value was found to be 33.28±7.85 years in the euthyroid patient group, 34.97±8.01 years in the subclinical hypothyroid group and 34.08±7.19 years in the overt hypothyroid group. The mean age of the control group was 27.28±5.68 years. While the mean body weight was 70.65±15.33 kg in the whole patient group, it was 60.55±8.72 kg in the control group. While the mean body mass index was 27.54±6.01 in the whole patient group, it was 22.89±3.96 in the control group. While the mean waist circumference was 89.47±14.68 cm in the whole patient group, it was 76.0±9.73 cm in the control group. While the mean serum total cholesterol level and triglyceride level were 203.78±44.76 mg/dL and 104.87±56.21 mg/dl in the patient group, respectively, they were 179.78±33.84 mg/dL and 92.58±57.45 mg/dl in the control group. While the mean serum LDL level was 126.92±35.19 mg/dL in the whole patient group, it was 104.68±31.20 mg/dL in the control group. While the mean serum ALT level was 19.31±15.74 U/L in the whole patient group, it was 14.18±8.12 U/L. While the mean systolic blood pressure and mean diastolic blood pressure were 119.15±14.14 mmHg and 75.43±8.94 mmHg in all patient groups, respectively, 112.25±11.71 mmHg and 69.38±7.53 mmHg in the control group. While the frequency of metabolic syndrome was 5% in the control group, it was 22.3% in the patient group. A statistically higher rate of metabolic syndrome was found in the subclinical and overt hypothyroid groups compared to the control group (p=0.012; p=0.002, respectively). There was no significant difference in the frequency of metabolic syndrome between the euthyroid group and the control group. (p>0.432). There is a higher frequency of hyperglycemia in the overt hypothyroid group than in the control group (p=0.011). A statistically higher rate of hypertension was xix found in the subclinical and overt hypothyroid groups compared to the control group (p=0.007; p=0.036, respectively). Conclusion: In our study, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, serum total cholesterol level, serum triglyceride level, serum LDL-C level, serum ALT level, systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels were found to be statistically significantly higher in the patient group compared to the control group (p. <0.05). When evaluated in terms of metabolic syndrome, the presence of metabolic syndrome was found to be statistically higher in subclinical hypothyroidism and overt hypothyroidism groups than in the control group. Early diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, which is a serious risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, is important. This study may be an inspiration to increase awareness of MetS in the follow-up of patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Keywords: Metabolic Syndrome, Female Gender, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis