Relationship between Lipid Profile and Thyroid Disturbance and Ischemic Heart Disease in Iraqi Patients

Abstract

The current study is a case-control study conducted in Baghdad city between 1st of January to the end of, 2023. The study focused on patients admitted to the Coronary Care Unit of Ibn Al Nafees Hospital and Ibn Al Bitar Hospital in Baghdad. And Alyarmok Hospital in Baghdad. The study included 60 Iraqi patients with coronary heart disease, ranging in age from 37 to 66 years. A control group of 30 apparently healthy individuals (15 men and 15 women) was included in the study. The control group was matched with the patients in terms of gender and age to improve the accuracy of the results. Blood samples were collected from both patients and control individuals after 12 hours of fasting. Biochemical colorimetric methods by spectrophotometer were used to determine total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and Immunofluorescence technique by Afias was used to determine triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), and TSH levels and HbA1C levels in the blood. The study analyzed the demographic characteristics of patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) and the control group, including age groups, sex distribution, and BMI. The majority of IHD patients were non-smokers, with 26.67% being smokers and the majority being non-smokers. The majority of IHD patients had hypertension, while 58.33% had diabetes. The cholesterol levels in IHD patients were significantly higher than the control group, with a p-value of 0.001. The triglyceride levels were also significantly elevated in IHD patients, with a p-value of 0.001. LDL-c levels were significantly elevated in IHD patients, while very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDLc) levels were significantly elevated in IHD patients. IHD patients had significantly higher T3 levels (1.701 ± 1.21) than the control group (0.87 ± 0.16), suggesting potential differences. T4 levels were also significantly higher in IHD patients with thyroid dysfunction (106.7 ±86.5) compared to the control group (78.5 ±13.65). On the other hand, TSH levels did not show a significant difference between IHD patients with thyroid dysfunction (3.29 ± 2.55) and the control group (3.18 ±2.078). The study found no significant differences in thyroid function parameters among the different age groups of individuals with hypothyroidism. The mean T3 level in the 40-49 age group was 0.49±0.02, the mean T4 level was 43.5±0.7, and the mean TSH level was 4.88±0.38. For the 50-59 age group, the mean T3 level was 0.36±0.17, the mean T4 level was 44.6±0.54, and the mean TSH level was 5.41±1.07. In the >59 age group, the mean T3 level was 0.51±0.03, the mean T4 level was 45.8±6.9, and the mean TSH level was 5.24±0.66. The study showed that hypothyroidism IHD patients tend to be associated with higher levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-c, and VLDL-c. The highest prevalence of hyperthyroidism among individuals with hypertension was 72.73%, while the highest spread was seen in hypothyroidism among individuals with diabetes. The highest mean value for HbA1c was observed in patients with hypothyroidism (6.99±0.82%), followed by patients with hyperthyroidism (6.46±0.51), and the lowest mean value was seen in patients with normal thyroid function (4.36±0.56%). These differences in mean HbA1c levels among the three groups are statistically significant, as indicated by the p-value: of 0.017.