Do traditional symptoms of hypothyroidism correlate with biochemical disease?

Steiner, John F.; Ridgway, E. Chester

doi:10.1046/j.1525-1497.1997.07109.x

Cited by 152 publications

(127 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…!0.0015) to identify hypothyroidism-associated symptoms. Similar identification of hypothyroidism-associated symptoms has been reported in several other studies (5,8,10,13). We calculated a 'simple hypothyroidismcomponent-score' for each of the 700 participants with the number of hypothyroidism-associated symptoms reported.…”

Section: Blood Specimen Analysesmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…Various symptom scores have been introduced, some of which weigh each symptom equally (3,4,5,17), whereas others apply different weights to the complaints (6,7,8,9,10,11,12). However, these scores tend to have quite low sensitivity and specificity values in statistical workout, and the accuracy for identifying subjects with undiagnosed hypothyroidism is low.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hypothyroid symptoms and the likelihood of overt thyroid failure: a population-based case–control study

Carlé¹,

Pedersen²,

Knudsen³

et al. 2014

European Journal of Endocrinology

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Background: It is generally accepted that patients suffering from hypothyroidism may express few symptoms, but this has not been studied in a population-based study design. Objectives: To study the array of symptoms as they are reported in newly diagnosed overt autoimmune hypothyroidism using a population-based case-control design. Methods: Patients with new overt autoimmune hypothyroidism (nZ140) and their individually matched thyroid disease-free controls (nZ560) recruited from the same population underwent a comprehensive program and self-reported a number of symptoms. We identified the symptoms associated with overt hypothyroidism and calculated positive (LRC) and negative (LRK) likelihood ratios as well as diagnostic odds ratios (DORs) as measures for the association between disease state and symptoms. Results: Among 34 symptoms investigated, 13 symptoms were statistically overrepresented in hypothyroidism. Hypothyroid patients suffered mostly from tiredness (81%), dry skin (63%), and shortness of breath (51%). Highest DORs (95% CI) were reported for tiredness (5.94 (3.70-9.60)), hair loss (4.58 (2.80-7.51)), and dry skin (4.09 (2.73-6.16)). A hypothyroidismcomponent-score was defined as the number of hypothyroidism-associated symptoms (range: 0-13). LRC for participants with a hypothyroidism-component-score of 0 was 0.21 (0.09-0.39), meaning that the post-test probability was lowered to 21% of what it was before asking for symptoms. LRC for scores of 1-2/3/4-6/7-9/10-13 were: 0.47 (0.30-0.72)/1.16 (0.70-1.87)/1.90 (1.29-2.45)/3.52 (2.30-5.36)/6.29 (2.30-17.7). Conclusions: None of the individual symptoms of hypothyroidism had high LRs or DORs. Thus, neither the presence nor absence of any individual hypothyroidism symptom was reliable in the decision making of who should have their thyroid function tested. Therefore, even minor suspicion should lead to a blood test.

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Section: Blood Specimen Analysesmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypothyroid symptoms and the likelihood of overt thyroid failure: a population-based case–control study

Carlé¹,

Pedersen²,

Knudsen³

et al. 2014

European Journal of Endocrinology

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“…Hypothyroidism presents with non specific neuropsychiatric complaints, weight gain, constipation, menstrual irregularities, fatigue, cold intolerance or specific hypercholesterolaemia, hyponatraemia or hyperprolactinaemia. Severe untreated hypothyroidism can lead to coronary artery disease, heart failure, psychosis, and coma (14,15). Hypothyroidism was a frequent discovery in the patients referred to us from cardiology, neurology and psychiatry.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Thyroid Disorders in Patients Visiting a Tertiary Care Center in New Delhi: A Three-Year Study

et al. 2013

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Background: Thyroid disorders constitute the most prevalent endocrine disorder in our country. Thyroid disorders are classified broadly as hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism depending on the functional capacity of the thyroid gland. These two entities are further segregated as sub clinical and overt dysfunction. The present study attempts to evaluate the prevalence of thyroid disorders in north Indian population which is more prone to hypothyroidism due to iodine deficiency observed in the Himalayan belt. Materials and Methods:A total of 7474 patients presenting to the department of Biochemistry, G B Pant hospital, Delhi, were enrolled in the study. The patients were examined and asked to report after overnight fast for sample collection on a prescribed date. Thyroid hormone estimation was done with commercially available ELISA kits supplied by Cal biotech, USA. Statistical Analysis was done using Microsoft Office "Excel" with Windows 2007 Operating System and multiple comparisons were made using SPSS 12.0 statistical software package. Results:The majority of the patients (approximately 85%) were Euthyroid. Only 1.22% of the total number of referred patients turned out to be hyperthyroid. Hypothyroidism was more prevalent with the number of patients diagnosed with both sub clinical and overt hypothyroidism being 987 (13.2%). Conclusions:We have strived to provide a baseline orientation regarding the prevalence of thyroid disorders in the representative north Indian population in the post iodine fortification era.

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“…However, goiter was absent (atrophic thyroid). Over the years, it has been realized that there is a great symptom overlap 6 between hypothyroids and normal population. The attempts to clinical scoring system have also turned out to be unsuccessful.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%