Alteration of Lipid Profiles in Patients with Subclinical Hypothyroidism

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Overt hypothyroidism has been associated with abnormalities of lipid metabolism; however conflicting results regarding the degree of lipid changes in subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) have been reported. The aim of this study was to assess differences in lipid profile parameters between people with and without SCH in Korean population. METHODS: Serum lipid parameters of 37 patients with SCH and 44 euthyroid control subjects were evaluated in a retrospective cross-sectional study. RESULTS: The mean serum triglycerides (TG) level was significantly higher in patients with SCH than in controls (p < 0.05). The mean serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level was significantly lower in patients with SCH than in controls (p < 0.05). When adjusted by age, the odds ratio for the association of HDL-C with SCH was significant at 0.893 (95% confidence interval 0.809–0.986) compared with that of the euthyroid controls. No association with SCH was found with total cholesterol level, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level or serum thyroid-stimulating hormone level. In addition, the lipid profile did not differ significantly between premenopausal and postmenopausal women. CONCLUSIONS: We found variations of lipid profiles in patients with SCH, characterized by a significantly lower HDL-C level.