Prevalence of vitamin B deficiency in patients with thyroid disorders: A study from Himalayan region

Abstract

Endocrine disorders are on the rise world over. Diseases of thyroid gland are among the most prevalent endocrine disorders in the world, second only to diabetes mellitus. In India, autoimmune thyroid disorders have been estimated to be the most frequent endocrine disorders. Thyroid diseases are more prevalent in the sub Himalayan region even in post iodination phase.To assess the prevalence of auto immune thyroid disease and vitamin B12 deficiency in patients with thyroid disorders in Himalayan region.Study population comprised of patients above 18 years of age, who were advised thyroid function tests by the clinicians on an outpatient basis. Patients who were critically ill were excluded from the study. Thyroid function tests (T3, T4, TSH) along with anti thyroperoxidase antibody (ATA) was done by chemiluminescence and vitamin B12 levels were done by chemiluminiscent enzyme immunoassay after serum separation of 120 subjects. ATA level >50uIU/ml was taken as positive and Vitamin B12 deficiency was taken as a value less than 160 pg/ml. Mean age of study population was 42.48 (± 12.32) years. Forty hypothyroid and forty hyperthyroid and 40 controls were recruited. ATA positivity was reported in 52.5% (63/120) of the samples. In the present study more than 50% of cases with thyroid disorder and ATA positivity showed deficiency of vitamin B12 (hypothyroidism 63.3% hyperthyroidism, 51.8%).All patients with thyroid dysfunction should be screened for vitamin B12 status and treated accordingly.