A CORRELATIVE STUDY OF THYROID PROFILE AND MINERAL STATUS IN PATIENTS WITH HYPOTHYROIDISM - A HOSPITAL BASED CASE CONTROL STUDY

Objective: To evaluate the alteration in mineral status by estimating serum calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium in hypothyroid patients comparedto healthy volunteers and its correlation with thyroid profile (triiodothyronine [T3], thyroxine [T4], and thyroid stimulating hormone [TSH]).Methods: Blood samples were collected from 30 hypothyroid patients and 30 healthy volunteers and analyzed for serum levels of calcium, magnesium,and phosphorus and for thyroid profile.Results: There were 22 females and 8 males in the hypothyroid patients group and 24 females and 6 males in the control group. The mean age inthe two groups was 39±13. The study observed a significantly decreased levels of serum magnesium, significantly increased serum phosphorusand serum creatinine levels among hypothyroid patients as compared to the control group (p<0.001), respectively, serum calcium levels did notshow a significant change in hypothyroid patients compared to the control group. Among hypothyroid subjects, there was a significant positivecorrelation of T3 and T4 with serum magnesium and a negative correlation of T4 with serum phosphorus and serum creatinine. TSH showed apositive correlation with serum phosphorus and serum creatinine and a negative correlation with serum magnesium. However, T3, T4, and TSH didnot show any correlation with serum calcium levels.Conclusion: The direction of effect of overt hypothyroidism on the blood levels of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus is inconsistent affecting thevarious metabolisms and clinical manifestations; in these patients, hence all patients with overt hypothyroidism need to be evaluated for mineralstatus to provide individualized holistic disease management strategies to these patients.Keywords: Hypothyroidism, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus