Thyroid Ultrasound Findings and Its Associated Parameters in Saudi People

Abstract

Background: Thyroid abnormalities are the most common endocrine abnormalities in Saudi Arabia (KSA). Ultrasonography (USG) is the commonest method of thyroid gland imaging. Thyroid lesions prevalence depends on factors such as sex, age, iodine intake, and other metabolic parameters. Objectives: Investigating different thyroid lesions and their associated clinical parameters. Subjects and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of adult residents who visited Internal Medicine Clinic in Riyadh, KSA. 206 participants were subjected to thyroid USG, weight and height measurement, laboratory investigations including FBG, HbA1C, ALT, AST, creatinine, uric acid, lipid profile, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and FT4. Results: Thyroid nodules were found in 27.2%, 30.1% had thyroiditis, and 6.8% had pure cysts. There was a significant prevalence of thyroid ultrasound findings within different age groups, (P = 0.002). The highest BMI was found in subjects with nodular size ≤1cm. Subjects with thyroid nodules had higher level of FBG, HbA1c, ALT, AST, uric acid, total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C and TSH. The most frequent thyroid status was euthyroid, followed by subclinical hypothyroidism which had higher frequency in subjects with nodular size ≤1cm (30.8%). Conclusion: Imaging, particularly USG, plays an important role in classifying thyroid gland abnormalities. We found that thyroid lesions, including nodules, pure cysts, and thyroiditis, were non-significantly positively associated with disturbed metabolic profile such as high FBS, HBA1C, ALT, AST, total cholesterol, and LDL levels. Our results for biochemical parameters do not allow inferences on whether they are independent factors associated with thyroid lesions or not.