Evaluation of the Activities of Thyroid Hormones Among Pre- and Post-menopausal Euthyroid Women: A Cross-sectional Study from a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in India.

Abstract

IntroductionAging brings about several changes in humans that include both physiological and anatomical changes. As individuals' age, the activity of the thyroid gland and its hormones decline, causing significant metabolic disorders. Most thyroid gland disorders have been noted among young and middle-aged women. Very little is known regarding the activities of thyroid hormones among older aged women.MethodsThe study included 350 young to middle-aged pre-menopausal women between 25 and 49 years and 350 older post-menopausal women above 50 years of age. The study was conducted in the department of biochemistry, Prathima Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Nagunur, Karimnagar, Telangana, India. The subjects included in the study were euthyroid (not having any signs and symptoms of thyroid disorder) and were not on any medication. The thyroid profile, including thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), tri-iodothyronine (T3), and tetra-iodothyronine (T4), was analyzed in all the study subjects using the chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) technique on a completely automated Abbott i1000SR Architect Plus instrument (Abbott Core Laboratory, Illinois‎, US).ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference in thyroid hormone activities in the two age groups compared, as noted by the unpaired student's ‘t’ test. The mean serum TSH levels in the older post-menopausal women (3.39+2.45) were found to be higher than those noted in pre-menopausal women (2.60+1.31). The activities of T3 and T4 showed no difference in both groups (p=0.8397).ConclusionThe study results clearly indicate an increase in the activities of TSH among the older-aged post-menopausal women.