The impact of disease status on general quality of life and sleep patterns in autoimmune thyroid disease patients admitted to the General Internal Medicine Outpatient Clinic

Karataş, H. The Effect of Disease Status on Quality of Life and Sleep Patterns in Patients with Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases Admitted to the General Internal Medicine Outpatient Clinic. Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Specialty Thesis, Eskişehir, 2025.Autoimmune thyroid diseases, including Hashimoto's thyroiditis and Graves' disease, are endocrine disorders that can adversely affect individuals' quality of life and sleep patterns due to their systemic manifestations. This study aimed to evaluate the general quality of life and sleep quality of 220 patients aged 18 years and older, diagnosed with Hashimoto's or Graves' disease, who were admitted to the General Internal Medicine Outpatient Clinic of Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine. Of these patients, 158 were in the Hashimoto group and 62 were in the Graves group.To obtain a younger and homogeneous study population, individuals with chronic diseases other than thyroid disorders were excluded. Quality of life was assessed using the Thyroid-Specific Patient-Reported Outcome measure (ThyPRO), and sleep quality was evaluated with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Clinical, biochemical, and sociodemographic variables were also compared between subgroups based on treatment status (treated vs. untreated).In the Hashimoto group, significant differences were observed between treated and untreated patients in terms of height, weight, duration since diagnosis, and TRAb levels (p = 0.042; p = 0.027; p = 0.003; p = 0.048, respectively). In the Graves group, TSH levels were significantly lower in the treated subgroup (p = 0.039). Among individuals with Hashimoto's disease, both quality-of-life and sleep-quality subdimensions were more adversely affected in the untreated subgroup. Consistent with existing literature on sleep quality, high rates of sleep disturbances were observed in both patient groups.In conclusion, post-diagnosis follow-up and treatment status may play a decisive role in shaping quality of life and sleep patterns in autoimmune thyroid diseases. Therefore, early diagnosis, regular follow-up, and individualized multidisciplinary treatment approaches may offer meaningful improvements in patients' overall quality of life.