ABSTRACT
To study thyroid function and Ultrasonographic features in male Egyptian diabetic patients, and, to compare them with normal healthy male control subjects. Subjects and Fifteen male Egyptian type 1 diabetic patients, 15 male Egyptian type 2 diabetic patients, 10 young male controls and 13 old male controls. TT4, FT4, TT3, FT3 and TSH were determined, as well as HbA1C. Thyroid ultrasonography was carried out to determine thyroid volume and morphology. No statistically significant difference was found between the four studied groups as regards serum TSH, TT4, FT4 or FT3. In both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, TT3 was significantly lower than that of young and old controls, respectively. Subclinical hypothyroidism was found in 6.7% of type 1 diabetic patients, but in none of type 2 diabetic patients. In type 2 diabetic patients, the mean right and left thyroid lobe volumes were significantly larger than those of type 1 diabetic patients, as well as those of old controls. The right thyroid lobe was homogeneously echogenic in all type 1 diabetic patients, but was nodular in 8 out of 15 type 2 diabetic patients. The left thyroid lobe was nodular in only 1 out of 15 type 1 diabetic patients, while it was nodular in 7 out of 15 type 2 diabetic patients. The mean total thyroid gland volume of type 2 diabetic patients was significantly larger than that of old controls. The total thyroid gland was homogeneously echogenic in 26.7% of patients and nodular in 73.3% of patients. No Doppler flow was detected over the thyroid gland of any of the studied patients. In both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients, no significant correlation was found between age, duration of illness, BMI, body surface area or metabolic control. Also, there was no significant correlation between these parameters and serum level of TSH, TT4, FT4, TT3 and FT3. No significant correlation was found between thyroid nodularity and age, duration of illness, degree of metabolic control, BMI or type of treatment used among type 2 diabetic patients. Conclusions: Community-based biochemical screening for thyroid disease may be justified in diabetic patients, in view of the likelihood of symptoms of thyroid disease being masked by the diabetic state, high-resolution ultrasonography was found to be a sensitive tool capable of detecting many small, nonpalpable thyroid nodules