Assessment of Bone Mineral Density in Patients with Subclinical Hypothyroidism

Document Type : Original Article

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Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.

10.21608/jcmrp.2024.279724.1040

Abstract

Abstract:
Background and Aim: Although overt hyperthyroidism and overt hypothyroidism have been linked to osteoporosis in both women and men, it is unclear whether subclinical thyroid dysfunction is also linked to osteoporosis. The current study evaluated the association between thyroid function parameters and bone densitometry.
Patients and Methods: In this study, we enrolled 20 patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) and 20 healthy subjects. In all participants, bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed. In addition, thyroid hormone profile, lipid profile, and serum vitamin D were also evaluated.
Results: The main findings of the current study were; 1) patients with SCH had significantly lower BMD (0.872 ± 0.123 vs. 0.991 ± 0.112 (g/cm); p= 0.003), and lower vitamin D (14.98 ± 6.62 vs. 34.68 ± 13.92 (ng/ml); p < 0.001) and significantly higher cholesterol (184.89 ± 25.91 vs. 165.78 ± 23.67 (mg/dl); p= 0.02) and low density lipoproteins (114.8 ± 29 vs. 94.78 ± 17.54 (mg/dl); p= 0.012). Also, 12 (60%) patients had no osteopenia or osteoporosis, while 2 (10%) patients had osteopenia and 6 (30%) patients had osteoporosis. At the cutoff point, thyroid-stimulating hormone > 9.45, had 95% accuracy for predicting bone mineral disorders in patients with SCH, with an area under the curve of 0.939.
Conclusion: Patients with SCH are vulnerable to developing osteopenia and osteoporosis with subsequent pathological fracture. Regular assessment of such patients should be considered. Future studies are warranted to confirm these findings.
 

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