Prevalence of thyroid dysfunction and thyroid auto antibodies in type 2 diabetic patients

Objective: To investigate the relationship between thyroid dysfunction and thyroid autoimmunity, and diabetes mellitus (DM). Methodology: Eight hundred twenty type 2 diabetic patients attending to diabetes clinic of Ahvaz University were screened for T4, T3, T3RU, TSH, HbA1c, Anti-TPO Ab, Anti-TG A. Other variables were sex, age, and blood sugar lowering drugs. Results: About 20 percent of patients had one type of thyroid dysfunction: subclinical or clinical hypothyroidism and subclinical to overt hyperthyroidism which had significant relationship with sex (P = 0.003) but not with age (P =0.141). High levels of Anti-Tpo Ab and Anti-TG Ab were seen in 33.9% and 32.7% of patients, respectively. Conclusion: Due to high prevalence of thyroid dysfunction and thyroid autoantibodies in patients with type 2 diabetes, we suggest all patients with type 2 diabetes should undergo annual screening by serum TSH measurement.