A Study on Iron Status in Hypothyroidism Patients Attending Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction: Hypothyroidism is a common disease in India and worldwide.It affects even at a young age and is prevalent in both males and females.Iron is an essential cofactor needed for the enzyme thyroperoxidase (TPO) to function effectively.In iron deficiency, TPO cannot perform its function of synthesizing thyroid hormones.Hence iron deficiency may be the key factor responsible for hypothyroidism.With the increasing association of total body iron status with hypothyroidism and there are only limited studies on serum ferritin levels in hypothyroid patients, we proposed this study, especially in the South Indian population.Materials and methods: It is a comparative cross-sectional study between newly diagnosed patients with hypothyroidism and healthy volunteers.The study period was 18 months with 30 subjects and 30 cases.The median values of serum ferritin in patients with hypothyroidism and healthy control will be tested for Statistical Significance using Mann-Whitney U Test. Results:The mean age of cases in the study was 40.73.Among the study participants, 36 (60%) were female and 24 (40%) were male.Serum ferritin levels are decreased in cases when compared to controls. Conclusion:Our study shows there is a significant association between serum ferritin levels and hypothyroidism.Hypothyroidism patients had significantly lower serum ferritin levels when compared to healthy volunteers.