ABSTRACT
@#Introduction: Anemia and thyroid conditions effect each other in clinical practice. Anemia may induce alteration in thyroid hormone status and various thyroid conditions induce various types of anemia. In present study, we aimed to study the thyroid function tests of the anemic subjects and to compare characteristics and laboratory features of the three groups; hypothyroid, hyperthyroid, and euthyroid subjects. Methods: Anemic subjects divided into three groups according to the thyroid hormone status, either as hyperthyroid, hypothyroid and euthyroid groups. Hemogram indices and laboratory parameters compared between three groups. Results: Mean red cell distribution width (RDW) of hypothyroid anemic subjects was significantly lower than the RDW of euthyroid anemic subjects (p=0.003). White blood cell (WBC) count of hypothyroid anemic subjects was significantly reduced compared to the euthyroid (p<0.001) and hyperthyroid (p=0.047) anemic subjects. Significant inverse correlation between RDW and TSH (r=-0.25, p=0.001), between RDW and hemoglobin (r=-0.44, p<0.001), between RDW and hematocrit (r=-0.35, p<0.001) and between RDW and mean corpuscular volume (r=-0.53, p<0.001) were noted. Conclusions: Since anemia is common in thyroid conditions, besides its role in differential diagnosis of the anemia, RDW could also serve as an adjunct diagnostic tool in estimation of the thyroid hormone status in anemic subjects.