Background: The association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and thyroid dysfunction is well known. However, the prevalence of having DM with thyroid dysfunction is extremely variable from one study to another. Clinical relevance of thyroid disorders in diabetic patients leads to serious consequences with metabolic compensation of diabetes.
Objectives: to find the prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in T2D retrospectively through the data available in our diabetic centers among those who attended the diabetic clinics for routine checkup.
Patients and methods: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted from January to August 2017 at three diabetic centers in Makkah and Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Nine hundred and seventy-nine patients aged between 30 and 65years, of both genders with T2D were randomly selected. The participants` data were collected from their files, using a data collection checklist prepared for the study.
Results: The study included 979 T2D patients. The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction among T2D patients was 13.1%. Mean age amongT2D patients with thyroid dysfunction was 48.8 years whereas the mean age among T2D patients with hypertension was 58.5 years. Females were significantly more presented with T2D and thyroid dysfunction. Again, T2D associated with thyroid dysfunction and hypertension was significantly more in females than males. Duration of diabetes was significantly more among patients having T2D, thyroid dysfunction and hypertension than those with only T2D and thyroid dysfunction. Oral antidiabetics (OADs) were more frequently used than combination of OADs and insulin while diet and exercise only were less, however thyroid dysfunction was more among them. Majority of our participants with T2D and thyroid dysfunction reported the occurrence of T2D first
Conclusion: The prevalence of thyroid disorder is quite high amongT2D patients. Prevalence was higher in female patients and relatively younger ages. Early detection of thyroid dysfunction in patients with T2Dis of great importance and consequences.