Association of subclinical hypothyroidism and lipid profile in dyslipidemic patients from Gaza City, Palestine

Abstract

Background: Dyslipidemia covers the broad spectrum of lipid abnormalities. Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is a clinical status of mildly elevated serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels with normal levels of free T4 and free T3. Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of SCH in patients with dyslipidemia in Gaza City, Palestine. We also aimed to investigate the associations between TSH and lipid profiles. Settings and Design: In a case–control study, a total of eighty individuals are involved in the study, of them forty were patients with dyslipidemia and forty were healthy individuals who represented the control group. Patients were examined and diagnosed by a physician in the dyslipidemic clinic, Palestinian Medical Relief Society in Gaza Strip. Materials and Methods: Blood sample collected in plain tubes for the preparation of serum. The serum TSH, total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglycerides levels were measured using standardized assays. A prepiloted questionnaire was used to collect the demographic data and information about family history of dyslipidemia and remove fat from meat. Statistical Analysis Used: Data analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 17). Continuous data were expressed as a mean ± standard deviation, whereas categorical data as number (%). Odd ratios were calculated using Win Episcope to find the association between selected variables and dyslipidemia associated with SCH.P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Patients with dyslipidemia manifested significant higher TSH compared to controls (P = 0.049), whereas triiodothyronine and tetraiodothyronine levels were not showed significant differences between cases and controls. Moreover, TSH level was positively correlated with TC (r = 0.445,P = 0.000) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (r = 0.415,P = 0.000) but negatively to HDL-cholesterol (r= -0.422 andP = 0.000). Logistic regression analysis showed that female, smoking, and positive history of dyslipidemia were risk factors for SCH in study participants. Conclusions: Findings from the present study reflect the association of dyslipidemia and SCH. The patients in case group showed significant lipids' alteration and higher TSH when compared to controls. Moreover, this study reported a strong relationship between dyslipidemia and clinical hypothyroidism.