Study of Liver Function Tests in Patients of Hypothyroidism

The liver is fundamental in metabolizing thyroid hormones,and hepatocytes are often affected in thyroid disease. Thyroiddisorders often accompany abnormal serum enzyme levelsand disturbances in liver functions. These thyroid-liverassociations may cause diagnostic confusions. Neglect of thesefacts may result in over or under diagnosis of associated liveror thyroid diseases and thereby cause errors in patient care.Aim of the present study was to determine the biochemicalmarkers of liver function test Aspartate transaminase (AST),Alanine transaminase (ALT) and Alkaline phosphatase (ALP)in patients with hypothyroidism and to find their possiblecorrelation with thyroid profile.Material and Methods: The study included 50 patients withsubclinical hypothyroidism (TSH 6.0-9.9miu/l), 50 patientswith overt hypothyroidism (TSH ≥10.0 miu/l) and 50 agematched normal euthyroid controls. In all study groups FT3,FT4, TSH, AST ALT and ALP were estimated. Thyroid profileand LFT were estimated using fully autoanalyser. p value<0.05 considered as significant.Results: Subjects with both subclinical hypothyroidism andovert hypothyroidism had significantly raised serum AST,ALT and ALP (p<0.0001) compared to controls. Further, TSHshowed significant positive correlation with AST, ALT andALP (P<0.001) in both subclinical and overt hypothyroidism,Conclusion: Hypothyroid patients should be regularlychecked for biochemical parameters of LFT. As early detectionand treatment can prevent the further complications relatedto the disorder and will be helpful during the management ofhypothyroid patients.