Risk of Progression to Overt Hypothyroidism in Geriatric Patients with Subclinical Hypothyroidism

Abstract

                        Aim: The purpose of this research is to assess the natural course of SCH and find risk variables possibly causing overt hypothyroidism (OH) in elderly people.

Method: Over a one-year period, this prospective observational research tracked 58 individuals with SCH under evaluations every six months to track the progression of the disorder.

Results: Out of the total number of patients (16%), 8 experienced progressions to overt hypothyroidism that is, a thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level of 10 IU/L or above during the one-year follow-up study. Out of all the patients, 34 people 68% of the sample were categorized as remaining members of the SCH group. Of the fifty people, eight had TSH normalized; this is sixteen percent of the total. In the group tested positive for anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPO), the rate of progression to overt hypothyroidism (OH) was 33.33%; in the group tested negative for anti-TPO, this rate was 8.57%. The group who tested positive for anti-TPO antibodies progressed much more quickly than the group that tested negative (p<0.023). Sex, glycemic status, central adiposity, and baseline TSH>6 had no correlation found with development to OH.

Conclusion: regardless of whether a person has a real thyroid disease or not, it has been shown that TSH levels in blood tend to grow as one ages. In India's geriatric population with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH), the incidence of progression to osteoporotic hip (OH) is very high-18.97%. The existence of anti-TPO antibody was the sole element that fairly projected the incidence of OH.