Frequency of hypothyroidism among patients of pulmonary hypertension.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency of hypothyroidism in patients with pulmonary hypertension. Study Design: Observational Cross-sectional study. Setting: Department of Medicine, Sandeman Provincial Hospital, Bolan University of Medical & Health Sciences Quetta Pakistan. Period: March 2020 to March 2021. Material & Methods: Pulmonary Hypertension was defined as mPASP of >25 mm Hg at rest on transthoracic echocardiogram and hypothyroidism was labeled when TSH was high with low Free T4 and/or Free T3. Patients with congestive cardiac failure, pulmonary malignancy or pulmonary metastasis assessed by history and examination were excluded from the study. Using non-probability consecutive sampling, 186 patients of both genders, aged 20-65 years with pulmonary hypertension were included. Demographic information along with clinical variables noted, echocardiography was done and thyroid profile was sent for each patient. Results: Mean age was 41.2+11.2 years with 56 (30.1%) males and 130 (69.9%) females. The mean height, weight and BMI were 1.6+0.2 meters, 56.5+14.4 kilograms and 21.8+3.6 kg/m² respectively. The mean mPASP was 40.2+7.1 mmHg. The mean serum TSH, free T3 and free T4 levels were 6.6+4.8 IU/L, 2.5+1.0 pmol/L and 1.1+0.4 pmol/L respectively. In our study, hypothyroidism was seen in 46 (24.7%) and was not significantly associated with age, gender, BMI or mPASP. Conclusion: Hypothyroidism was noted in about a quarter of the patients with pulmonary hypertension in this study.