Study of subclinical hypothyroidism among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background: The clinical association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and subclinical hypothyroidism is important as both of these conditions are common in patients with metabolic syndrome who are prone to develop cerebrovascular and cardiovascular complications. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the burden of subclinical hypothyroidism defined as elevated thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) (>4.2?IU/mL) with normal concentrations of serum total thyroxin (T4 ) and free T4 (FT4) in 50 patients with T2DM and 50 age-and gender-matched healthy control subjects. Results: We observed a significantly higher proportion of patients with T2DM had subclinical hypothyroidism compared to healthy control subjects [9/50 (18%) Vs 3/60 (6%); p=0.009]. We also observed a statistically significant positive correlation between the fasting plasma glucose and serum TSH levels (p<0.001). Conclusion: Our observations suggest that screening for subclinical hypothyroidism may be beneficial in patients with T2DM and may help in detecting the condition early.