Prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in newly diagnosed hypothyroidism patients

Abstract

Objective: to estimate the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia in newly diagnosed patients of hypothyroidism in a tertiary care center of southern Rajasthan.

Material and methods: present study is a cross-sectional study conducted in a y tertiary care center of southern Rajasthan and includes 100 newly diagnosed cases of hypothyroidism excluding old cases who are already taking treatment or patients with chronic illnesses. Hemoglobin, serum iron, serum ferritin and thyroid profile (T3, T4, TSH) along with peripheral smear study was evaluated in all the cases.

Results: Most of the patients (71%) in the study group were from age group 31-

50 years. 82% patients were female while 18% were male. Out of 100 hypothyroid cases, 74% had iron deficiency anemia. Peripheral smear revealed that mild to moderate microcytic hypochromic anemia is more common in newly diagnosed hypothyroid patients (62%). Mean TSH in present study was 19.83 ±

5.81 mIU/L. Mean serum iron and serum ferritin in present study were 36.15±7.61µg/dl and 25.72±7.39 ng/ml.

conclusion: The prevalence of anemia in newly diagnosed hypothyroid patients in present study was found to be 74% which is much higher than the global prevalence of anemia (i.e. 24.3%). Further controlled studies and meta-analysis are required to identify and establish a definite relationship between thyroid status and iron profile of patients.