Correlation of subclinical hypothyroidism and carotid atherosclerosis in patients with essential hypertension

Abstract

Objective To explore the relationship between subclinical hypothyroidism and carotid atherosclerosis in patients with primary hypertension. Methods A total of 218 patients with primary hypertension were enrolled into this study in Shanghai Xuhui District Central Hospital from January of 2016 to December of 2016.According to thyroid function, they were divided into euthyroidism group(157 patients)and subclinical hypothyroidism group(61 patients). The levels of fasting plasma glucose(FPG), total cholesterol(TC), triglyceride(TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein in cholesterol(LDL-C), high sensitive C reactive protein(hs-CRP), thyroid function, systolic blood pressure(SBP), diastolic blood pressure(DBP)and carotid artery intima-media thickness(IMT)were collected in all patients.Multiple linear regression and multiple Logistic regression was used to evaluate the impact of those risk factors above on atherosclerosis in patients with essential hypertension. Results Carotid artery intima-media thickness[IMT, (1.2±0.3)mm vs. (1.1±0.3)mm, P=0.001]and carotid artery plaque prevalence (57.4% vs. 38.9%, P=0.015)were significantly higher in subclinical hypothyroidism group than those in euthyroidism group.Multivariate regression analysis showed that increased TSH, age, fasting glucose, DBP and decreased HDL-C contribute to increased carotid IMT.Multiple Logistic regression showed age and TSH were the independent risk factor for IMT. Conclusions Increased TSH in patients with essential hypertension is an independent risk factor for carotid artery plaque prevalence.Subclinical hypothyroidism accelerates the atherosclerosis progression in patients with primary hypertension. Key words: Primary hypertension; Subclinical hypothyroidism; Atherosclerosis