Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and thyroid dysfunction (TD) are common endocrine diseases experienced clinically. The thyroid gland releases hormones that play a considerable role in terms of carbohydrate (CHO) metabolism. As a result, CHO metabolism was significantly affected among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) cases with TD compared to the non-diabetic (NDM) subjects.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of TD in diabetic cases.
Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated 193 diabetic patients. Venous samples (5 ml) were obtained from each patient via venipuncture under aseptic conditions. Body mass index (BMI), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc), free tri-iodothyronine (fT3), free thyroxine (fT4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were evaluated.
Results: Prevalence of thyroid dysfunctions in diabetic patients was found to be (9.3%). There was a significant negative relationship between fT4 and the duration of DM, and statistically significant negative relationship between HbA1c and fT3 level. There was negative correlation between the BMI and fT3 and fT4 levels but this correlation was not statistically significant.
Conclusion: Thyroid dysfunctions were found to be more common in older females. Among the studied cases HbA1c was found to be significantly higher in hypothyroidism than cases of normal thyroid function.